“Empire” actor who outed co-star Jussie Smollett as gay now says he was ‘misquoted’

Days after outing his Empire co-star Jussie Smollett in an interview, actor Malik Yoba has issued a clarification.

‘I was misquoted in the article. My reference to Jussie was only about his character and storyline on Empire,’ he said in a statement to USA Today.

On the Fox breakout hit, Smollett (pictured) plays the gay character of Jamal Lyon who came out publicly in last week’s episode in spectacular fashion. He changed the pronouns of one of his homophobic father’s love song’s from ‘woman’ to ‘man.’

Yoba had previously told Black Film: ‘Jussie, he is gay, and he’s very committed to issues around the LGBT community. He and I have a very close relationship.’

Smollett has declined to comment about his co-stars original comments or his clarification. He has also refused to discuss his personal life.

‘I am not willing to confirm or deny anything,’ he said in a recent interview with Sway in the Morning.

‘I live my life…if anyone is looking to put me in a box, then that’s not going to happen. But if you really want to know about me, just watch, because I don’t hide anything. I just don’t choose to talk about my personal life.’