Terrence Howardsays he’s “done” with acting. The star, 50, revealed the shocking news during a sit-down interview withExtra‘s correspondent Miss USA Cheslie Kryst. “I’m done with acting. I’m done pretending,” Howard told Kryst after being asked about his plans following the end ofEmpire. Kryst then questioned if Howard will embark on a new career in philanthropy, to which Howard responded “No, not philanthropy; I’m just focusing on bringing truth to the world....

Photo: Paul Archuleta/Getty Terrence Howardis reportedly being investigated for criminal tax evasion. PEOPLE has reached out to Howard’s reps for comment. A spokesperson for the Attorney’s Office said, “Our office can neither confirm or deny the existence of an investigation.” REX/Shutterstock The Blast reports that Howard, 50, hired a high-profile, white-collar criminal attorney to defend him and that Howard and Pak became aware they were under investigation on May 20. Federal investigators have already had initial discussions with the actor, according to the outlet....

FormerEmpireactorJussie Smolletthas been found guilty of staging his own hate crime and making a false police report, according to multiple outlets. The jury deliberated for a total of more than nine hours before announcing the verdict Thursday. Smollett, an openly gay Black actor, was charged with six counts of disorderly conduct for making false reports to investigators in January 2019 after telling police he was the victim of a racist and homophobic attack....

Jussie Smollett.Photo: Rob Kim/Getty FormerEmpireactorJussie Smolletttook the stand today in his own defense. Smollett, an openly gay Black actor, is charged with six counts of disorderly conduct for making false reports to investigators in January 2019 after telling police he was the victim of a racist and homophobic attack. Prosecutors allege that Smollett staged a hate crime to get media attention and paid $3,500 to two brothers, Abimbola “Bola” and Olabinjo “Ola” Osundairo, to help him pull it off....

Photo: Janna Giacoppo Actress Lindsey Pearlman has been found dead, less than three days after going missing. She was 43. TheEmpirealum was discovered on Friday morning near the entrance of Runyon Canyon Park in Hollywood, according to astatementfrom the Los Angeles Police Department. Pearlman’s body was found inside a vehicle near the hiking trails,NBC News reports. The L.A. County Coroner’s Office later identified the body as the formerGeneral Hospitalactress, per the LAPD....

Lindsey Pearlman’s autopsy has been completed after she was found dead on Friday. The 43-year-old actress' cause and manner of death have not yet been confirmed with the case deferred pending further investigation, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner. The formerEmpirecast member was found dead inside a vehicle near the entrance of Runyon Canyon Park –– a popular hiking trail in Hollywood, Calif. –– on Friday, which is the date that the coroner lists as the day she died....

Security on Fox’sEmpireset was beefed up prior to theviolent attackon starJussie Smollett. The network confirms to PEOPLE that extra security was added after Fox Studios’ Chicago offices allegedly received a threatening homophobic letter addressed to the 35-year-old actor, who is gay, last week.TMZfirst reported the news. A rep for Fox also confirmed thatEmpire’s shooting schedule will be reshuffled to accommodate his recovery. However, production was temporarily shut down on both of the network’s Chicago-based shows —EmpireandProven Innocent— due to severe weather....

Photo: Image Press/Shutterstock Trai ByersandGrace Gealeyare ready to welcome a new addition to theirEmpire! Gealey, 38, revealed Friday that she and her former costar, 39, are expecting their first child together. Byers made his Broadway debut Thursday night at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, where the revival of August Wilson’sThe Piano Lesson— starringSamuel L. Jackson,John David WashingtonandDanielle Brooks— opened. Gealey and Byersstarred alongside each other onEmpire. Gealey played Anika, who was engaged to his character Andre’s dad Lucious (Terrence Howard) before becoming involved with Lucious' son Hakeem (Bryshere Y....

AsEmpireactor Jussie Smollett recovers froman apparent homophobic and racially charged attack, the Fox show’s creator, Lee Daniels, is speaking out about the incident. In a video posted to Instagram on Tuesday afternoon, the 59-year-old director began, “It’s taken me a minute to come to social media about this because, Jussie, you are my son.” “You didn’t deserve — nor does anybody deserve — to have a noose put around your neck, to have bleach thrown on you, to be called, ‘Die, f—t n—r’ or whatever they said to you,” a visibly emotional Daniels continued....

Lee Daniels now says he’s “beyond embarrassed” forsupporting formerEmpireactor Jussie Smollett’s claimsthat he was the victim of an alleged hate crime, which police later accused him of staging.Daniels, 59, toldVulturein a new interview, “If it turned out that [Smollett] did it, was guilty, and all of it’s accurate,” then it will feel like a betrayal.However, he also said “there’s some doubt” about whether Smollett, 36, staged the January attack. “If it were to happen to your son and your child, how would you feel?...

Jussie Smollett‘s on-camera family is continuing to both heal and process in the wake of his scandal. “The cast is upset. It is a sad time and we are slowly healing,”Empirecreator Lee DanielstoldExtraon Tuesday, nearly one month after charges against the actor were dropped after he allegedly staged a hate crime. While Daniels, 59, said that “the lesson is still to be learned” from the incident, he said that he is choosing not to judge Smollett....

Empireaudiences, mark your calendars — the Fox series is returning for a sixth season. Fox announced on Tuesday that the music drama, which premiered in 2015, has been renewed. “Empirecontinues to break barriers with its emotionally powerful storytelling, and it remains a core part of the FOX legacy,” said President, Entertainment for FOX Entertainment, Michael Thorn. “We want to thank everyone on the show — Taraji, Terrence and the entire cast, as well as Lee, Danny, Brett, Sanaa, Brian, Francie, Dennis and their teams — all of whom have done a tremendous job this season....

Jussie Smollett‘s future onEmpireremains to be seen.The actor has beenindicted with 16 counts of disorderly conductforallegedly filing a false reportclaimingtwo men attacked himin an apparent hate crime in January. He hasmaintained his innocenceand is due in court on Thursday. In the meantime, though, his character on the show has beenremoved from the final two episodesof season 5 to “avoid further disruption on set,” the Fox show’s executive producers previously said in a statement....