Taraji P. Henson talks to Jussie Smollett 'all the time,' predicts he'll return to 'Empire'

Jayme Deerwester
Updated

Taraji P. Henson says "Empire" co-star Jussie Smollett is doing well after all the criminal charges against him were dropped, and that as far as she knows, he will return for Season 6.

"I talk to Jussie all the time," she told the hosts of "The View" Thursday, adding that her TV son is "doing well, we're all doing well, the show's doing well. We're on hiatus right now and the writers are trying to figure out what the next season is going to look like. …They're trying to dig up some really good, juicy stuff for you guys."

The talk of Season 6 prompted Joy Behar to ask whether Smollett would still be around for it.

"Yes, I haven't heard anything else," Henson replied.

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Henson, who is promoting the civil-rights movie "The Best of Enemies," also sent best wishes to Britney Spears, who announced a day earlier that she is taking some "me time."

"God bless her," the actress said.

"It's hard in life – period – for anybody. But when you're doing what you love and your whole life is looked at through a microscope? Anything you do wrong, any mistake you make and be human, you get canceled or you get dragged That's a lot for someone because at the end of the day, we're all humans." said Henson, who has been vocal about her mental-health struggles and those of her family. She started the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation, named after her Vietnam veteran father, with the goal of destigmatizing mental illness among African-Americans.

Actress Taraji P. Henson poses during the "The Best of Enemies" cast photo call at The Whitby Hotel on Sunday, March 17, 2019, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) ORG XMIT: NYEA112
Actress Taraji P. Henson poses during the "The Best of Enemies" cast photo call at The Whitby Hotel on Sunday, March 17, 2019, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) ORG XMIT: NYEA112

Channeling her "Empire" character, Cookie Lyon, for a moment, she said, "Just because I'm in the limelight doesn't mean I'm Jesus Christ and you need to touch the hem of my robe. You can touch it – ain't nothin' gonna happen!"

Turning serious again, Henson added, "I think people put too much pressure on us and they forget we're still real people with very real problems. When they yell 'cut' or 'that's a wrap,' I go home to some very real problems. In my own head space, sometimes, it's not so happy."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Taraji P. Henson talks to Jussie Smollett 'all the time,' predicts he'll return to 'Empire'