I am not prepared for the possibility that this tool might face meaningful consequences for perpetrating a hoax that confirmed left-wing suspicions about the right a little too well.

Since when does America 2019 do accountability, especially on grounds of being Overly Woke?

BREAKING: Jussie Smollett’s character, Jamal, on #empire written out of the final two episodes. @cbschicago pic.twitter.com/27EDgm9unn — Charlie De Mar (@CharlieDeMar) February 22, 2019

“So, that’s a no on the raise then?” asks Drew McCoy.

If you believe TMZ, some (but not all) of the cast and crew want him gone. The “Why was Roseanne fired when Smollett gets to come back?” takes might soon need to be revisited:

We’re told many of the “Empire” actors are “f**king furious” and feel if FOX honchos don’t fire Jussie, he should quit on his own … because he doesn’t deserve a spot on the hit show. The feelings of animosity stem from the fact everyone on set had Jussie’s back after the “attack,” but in light of the new evidence police have laid out … many of them feel hurt and embarrassed. We’re told almost everyone on set is worried about how Smollett’s damaged the show’s reputation … and could continue to do so if he remains part of the cast.

Yeah, he has two big problems apart from the legal jeopardy he’s in. One is the fact that he reportedly doubled down on his innocence instead of copping to the whole thing and begging for mercy. He’s put his friends and colleagues in a difficult position now: They can be forgiven for having given him the benefit of the doubt initially but now they face a no-win choice in either turning on him and pissing off some fans of the show or standing by him and looking like chumps as the case plays out. Now’s the moment when he should be helping them climb down off the ledge he put them on. Instead he’s sawing it off.

The other problem is his alleged motive, that he wanted a raise from the producers. “What’s the logic there? You get your ass beat and then you go to your boss and go, ‘Hey, I need another million dollars, I need to buy some band-aids?’” asked Trevor Noah last night. I think the logic was “Once I’m a notable victim, a living symbol of the threats blacks and gays face, I’ll be that much more famous and sympathetic and that much more valuable to the show.” The smart play would have been for Smollett to ‘fess up to the hoax but adamantly dispute the purported reason for it, insisting that he allowed his zeal for raising awareness about hate crimes against gays and black to lead him to do something foolish. Caring Too Much™ would have earned him the forgiveness of many critics. Greed will not.

Here’s Don Lemon, who’s been in contact with Smollett regularly since the “attack,” offering him advice on national television: Repent. Denial will only make everything worse. Will a man who chose to pay for a fake hate crime with a personal check have the good sense to take that advice? Stay tuned.