Malik Yoba’s quick exit from “Empire,” must come as a major disappointment to the actor as the success of this show could have eventually made him a household name. While shooting the eleventh episode of the first season of “Empire,” Yoba was told his character of Vernon Turner would die off in the next episode, which was the season finale, according to The Spread It on March 22.
Malik Yoba fired for drugs, these are the latest allegations attempting to explain Yoba’s quick exit from “Empire.”
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During Yoba’s post-Empire interviews, besides saying that Fox needed to kill someone off in the series finale, he claims the decision came down to the one person who really runs the show and that is one of the writers. It isn’t the show runner Lee Daniels calling the shots, Yoba suggests, it is a female writer on the show.
Yoba doesn’t feel that Vernon Turner was given enough airtime and as an actor Yoba wasn’t given anything that he “could sink his teeth into” when playing Vernon. He thinks he could have done great things with the coke-addicted Vernon who was not at all loyal to Lucious. It was a surprise to see Vernon killed by Lucious’ daughter-in-law, who clocked him over the head with what looked like a trophy.
According to the Hollywood Gossip, allegations have surfaced about Yoba using drugs on the set. The actor has reportedly struggled with drug addiction in the past. Vernon, the man played by Yoba, was seen coked-out in his role, so is this life imitating art, or vice versa?
The scuttle-butt today is that he was booted because he was using drugs while working and making the other cast members uncomfortable. The details of the allegations have Fox exes getting wind of Yoba’s drug use and insisted the show runner Lee Daniels “give him the boot.”
Neither of these two men, Yoba or Daniels, have talked about these allegations publicly. As far as The Hollywood Gossip site is concerned, “it’s unlikely that we’ll ever get a definitive answer on why Yoba was cut from the cast.”
Another question circulating online today concerns Yoba’s attitude about being let go from this top show before people really got to know who his character was. Is the actor bitter that his role was short-lived?
Yoba’s excuse about Fox needing a top player killed off during the season finale seems to resonate from a comfortable place within the actor. But when he talks about the writer being in charge instead of Daniels, a twinge of bitterness appears to poke through.
