US actor Jussie Smollett is being cut from the final two episodes of the current season of Empire, the show's creators have said.

Smollett has been charged with making a false report to police that he had been the victim of a racist and homophobic attack in Chicago.

Police accuse him of faking the alleged assault in order to promote his career and get a salary increase.

Smollett also sent a racist and homophobic threatening letter to the Fox studio where he works in the city before the attack, Superintendent Eddie Johnson said.

The executive producers of the TV show - Lee Daniels, Danny Strong, Brett Mahoney, Brian Grazer, Sanaa Hamri, Francie Calfo and Dennis Hammer - have released a joint statement.

It reads: "The events of the past few weeks have been incredibly emotional for all of us.

"Jussie has been an important member of our Empire family for the past five years and we care about him deeply.

"While these allegations are very disturbing, we are placing our trust in the legal system as the process plays out.

"We are also aware of the effects of this process on the cast and crew members who work on our show and to avoid further disruption on set, we have decided to remove the role of 'Jamal' from the final two episodes of the season."

Fox Entertainment and 20th Century Fox Television had previously said they were "evaluating the situation".

While TV network TNT also pulled an episode of 'Drop the Mic' that featured Smollet.

On the show, guests compete in a freestyle rap-off against each other.

Executive producer and head writer of the show, Jensen Karp, said: "We had an episode of Drop The Mic this season with Jussie that you'll now (correctly) never see".

We had an episode of Drop The Mic this season with Jussie that you'll now (correctly) never see, but sadly it will shelve @clayaiken, WHO WAS A VERY GOOD RAPPER (at least for now)

— Jensen Karp (@JensenKarp) February 21, 2019

Smollett was charged on Wednesday and handed himself in on Thursday.

He appeared in a Chicago court, where a judge set bail at US$100,000 (€88,176).

If convicted, he could face three years in prison and be forced to pay for the investigation into the alleged beating on January 29th.

His lawyers have said they will mount an "aggressive defence" against allegations he faked the attack.

Two brothers, who are bodybuilders and aspiring actors, have claimed they were paid to stage an attack on him.

Abimbola "Abel" and Olabinjo "Ola" Osundairo, who were earlier deemed suspects, have testified before a grand jury.

One of the men had appeared in Empire, police said, and one of them was Smollett's personal trainer, who had helped the actor as he prepared to appear in a music video.

Detectives were unable to find CCTV footage of the alleged attack.

But police said they "have the cheque" they allege Smollett used to pay the two brothers.

Main picture: US actor Jussie Smollett (centre) leaves the Cook County Jail in Chicago | Image: TNS/SIPA USA/PA Images