Los Angeles - Actor Terrence Howard, who plays the father of Jussie Smollett's character on Empire, has expressed support for his fellow cast member amid allegations that Smollett staged a racist, anti-gay attack on himself. Howard, who plays music mogul Lucious Lyon on the Fox television series, took to Instagram and posted a video of Smollett holding a giggling baby boy with the message: "All your lil homies got you... We love the hell outta you." The post on Saturday came a day after Empire producers announced that Smollett's character, Jamal Lyon, would be removed from the final two episodes of the season, saying cast and crew were affected and they made the move "to avoid further disruption on the set." 1m 30s Jussie Smollett axed from last "Empire" episodes "Empire" series actor Jussie Smollett has been axed from the season's last episodes.