Listen Live
Power 107.5 Featured Video
CLOSE

In an interview with Extra, beloved actor Terrence Howard says he’s done with acting when Season 6 of Empire wraps. The long-time star of the familial showbiz drama said he will be hanging it up at the end of the show and moving on to other, vague pursuits.

“I’m done with acting. I’m done pretending,” Howard said when asked about his post-Season 6 plans. “I’m just focusing on bringing truth to the world.”

Howard offered no clues as to what he meant by “bringing truth,” only pointing out that he wasn’t talking about his philanthropy work. However, Howard’s decision to back away from that world makes a bit of sense if you look at the year he’s had.

Many of us witnessed the debacle that was the Jussie Smollet scandal. Howard was forced to watch his colleague and on-screen son, be turned into a national news buzzword over an allegedly staged attack and was dragged for defending Smollet. When he shared a message of support for Jussie, his fellow actors loudly voiced their displeasure.

“Whatever game was played is unacceptable,” Scandal‘s Columbus Short said in a representative response. “And yes I am speaking on your page loudly and clearly. I look up to you Terence. You have to take a leadership position. And denounce this [expletive]. Otherwise you as dumb as he is.”

In spite of the actors’ protest, Smollett was not brought back for the show’s sixth season and it was eventually canceled, though show runners still promise a crowd pleasing ending. Still, it’s fair to see why Howard might be feeling a bit disillusioned with acting at this point.

Howard is a true gem in the black community of actors. He has given us a lengthy body of work to reflect back on, if this is in fact his final days on the job.

US-OSCARS-ARRIVALS

Source: VALERIE MACON / Getty

Source: Complex