Appearing Thursday on ABC’s The View, Empire actress Taraji P. Henson said that her co-star Jussie Smollett will return to the Fox Entertainment program next season despite accusations of staging a hate crime against himself.

Last month, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office dropped all 16 charges against Smollett, who the Chicago Police Department charge faked the racist and anti-gay assault on January 29th to boost his career. He is accused of filing a false police report about the ordeal. Smollett reportedly told officers that two masked men hit him, doused him with an unknown chemical substance and placed a thin rope around his neck. He also told cops the men shouted “This is MAGA country!” before fleeing. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking for Smollett to repay roughly $130,000 to Chicago for investigative costs or risk being sued for lying to law enforcement. Today marks one week since the city’s chief law administrator wrote the actor a letter requesting the funds.

A partial transcript is as follows: