"Empire" co-creator and executive producer Lee Daniels says the weeks since cast member Jussie Smollett was arrested and charged with fabricating a racist and homophobic attack have been "a freakin' rollercoaster."
In an Instagram video that doesn't refer to Smollett by name, Daniels says since "the incident" he and his cast have "experienced pain and anger and sadness and frustration and really don't know how to deal with it."
Daniels had been among the first to voice his support for Smollett after he made the report in January.
FILE - In this Nov. 4, 2017 file photo, Lee Daniels arrives at the LACMA Art + Film Gala at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in Los Angeles. "Empire" co-creator and executive producer Daniels says the weeks since cast member Jussie Smollett was arrested and charged with fabricating a racist and homophobic attack have been "a freakin' rollercoaster." Daniels and other producers removed Smollett’s character from the season’s final episodes after his arrest in Chicago. (Photo by Willy SanjuanInvisionAP, File)
Daniels says the situation nearly made him forget to tell audiences that the Fox drama returns to the air Wednesday. Daniels and other producers removed Smollett's character from the season's final episodes after his arrest in Chicago.
Smollett has pleaded not guilty.
LUTON, England (AP) — Tom Lockyer, the Premier League player who suffered an onfield cardiac arrest earlier this season, says he is “at peace” with the prospect of having to retire from the sport.
The Luton captain had a defibrillator fitted after collapsing during a game against Bournemouth in December. He had previously collapsed seven months earlier during a game at Wembley Stadium because he suffered atrial fibrillation.
The 29-year-old Lockyer, who recently became a father for the first time, has not given up hope of resuming his playing career. But he accepts that may not be possible.
“I’ve made no secret saying I would love to return to football, but ultimately it would have to come down to someone who’s a cardiologist or a specialist who has done full research into what has gone on and if it could happen again, because we’ve got a little girl now and she takes priority,” Lockyer told BBC Radio Wales.
“I would love to play football again, of course I would, it’s my life but if it’s the case that I can’t, then I’m at peace with that as well."
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Luton Town's Tom Lockyer, centre, and team-mate Elijah Adebayo applaud the fans following the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Luton Town at Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton, England, Saturday April 27, 2024. Tom Lockyer, the Premier League player who suffered an onfield cardiac arrest earlier this season, says he is “at peace” if he is forced to retired from the sport. (Nick Potts/PA via AP)
