Jussie Smollett & Lee Daniels Fell Out After Daniels Reportedly Pushed Smollett To Work w/ R. Kelly, Daniels Says Claims Are ‘False’

Jussie Smollett, Lee Daniels, R. Kelly

Jussie Smollett & Lee Daniels Fell Out After Daniels Reportedly Pushed Smollett To Work w/ R. Kelly, Daniels Says Claims Are ‘False’

While many thought Jussie Smollett’s shocking fallout with Lee Daniels was because the epic “Empire” star was accused of lying about a hate attack against him, new reports suggest the two had issues long before that.

Lee Daniels openly struggled with whether he believed Jussie Smollett’s claims that two Donald Trump supporters brutally attacked him in the streets of Chicago in January 2019. Lee Daniels spoke about it candidly and

“If it turned out that he did it, was guilty, and all of it’s accurate…Of course, there’s some doubt. I’m telling you that because I love him so much. That’s the torture that I’m in right now because it’s literally if it were to happen to your son and your child, how would you feel? You would feel, Please, God, please let there be that glimmer of hope that there is some truth in this story. That’s why it’s been so painful. It was a flood of pain.”

An insider has said that the two actually fell out because of Jussie Smollett’s connection with R. Kelly, who’s currently in jail awaiting trial on child pornography and racketeering charges.

The source told Page Six that Smollett and Daniels’

“relationship is nonexistent, and it was tense even before Jussie’s attack incident.”

Their alleged tension started after Daniels reportedly pushed for R. Kelly to write songs that Smollett’s character, Jamal Lyon would sing on “Empire” but Smollett refused. In fact, the insider said he “put his foot down.”

At the same time, a spokesperson for the network said R. Kelly never wrote for the show, and Daniels never brought him up as an option.

Smollett and Daniels also allegedly had issues because Smollett would reportedly take his issues with the head honchos at Fox.

“It was things like that that did not sit well with Lee. He [was frustrated by] Jussie because he was constantly going over his head to Fox about their creative differences.”

Daniels has since denied the connection with R. Kelly.

“The information regarding my relationship with Jussie prior to his departure from ‘Empire’ is false. I have no personal or professional relationship with R. Kelly. I never have.”

Smollett’s character never returned to the show for its final season.

The insider added,

“Jussie’s [upset] to finally make it [on a hit show] and then have this happen. There was no reason for him to self-sabotage his career. He didn’t stage anything at all.”

What are your thoughts on reports over Jussie Smollett & Lee Daniels’ fallout? Tell us in the comments.