Actor Malik Yoba adamantly denies he was fired from Empire for drug use and wants an apology from the “rogue” blogger who first spread that fast-growing rumor. Malik Yoba on Empire: I Wasn’t Fired For Drugs! Major spoiler alert: Don’t watch the videos or continue reading until you watch Empire online and relive the epic first season that just ended on FOX. Now that you’ve been forewarned: Malik’s character Vernon dies on the finale, which was quickly followed by rumors that producers wanted him gone. Reports of Yoba abusing drugs and getting fired from the hit show spread like wildfire, but the 47-year-old actor says he doesn’t use … and never has. After calling out a Thailand blog for concocting the bogus story, he joked that he probably should’ve won an Emmy for Empire Season 2 Episode 10 . In that installment, Vernon is reeling from recent events, and begins snorting coke and drinking, looking and acting increasingly under the influence. Malik Yoba Talks Empire Finale It’s not art imitating life, though. Just art. Yoba says anyone who worked with him on Empire or at any other point in his 25-year career can attest. Empire creator Lee Daniels reached out to him and had his back when the rumor began spreading, he says, and any other colleague would as well. Malik tells TMZ that he spent time and money finding the guy who started the firestorm, and that he promised to post a retraction , which he did earlier today. So in the end … Vernon is still dead. Which sucks for Yoba, as the show is insanely popular. But it was simply for creative reasons, not for anything Malik did. We wish him the best … and wonder where his demise will rank among some of these other infamous, noteworthy TV character deaths in recent memory: 23 Shocking TV Deaths 1. Katherine Pierce Katherine Pierce was literally dragged to Hell on The Vampire Diaries. We’d like to think she’s dancing and drinking somewhere on The Other Side still. 2. Sophie Deveraux So much for Sophie Deveraux as a key player on The Originals. Her Season 1 death served as a shocker. 3. Moira Queen We can still feel the pain of Moira Queen’s death on Arrow. It’s almost as if we were the ones who were stabbed. 4. Will Gardner We know actor Josh Charles wanted to leave The Good Wife. But we still have nightmares about Will Gardner being gunned down in a courtroom. Advertisement A message from our sponsor. 5. Oberyn Martell If you’re gonna go out, we suppose you might as well have your eyes literally crushed, as we witnessed with Oberyn Martell on Game of Thrones. 6. Leslie Shay We did NOT see this one coming. Chicago Fire opened Season 3 by killing off Shay. 7. Joss Carter Yes, we miss Joss Carter on Person of Interest. But we now LOVE Taraji P. Henson on Empire! 8. Nicholas Brody Nicholas Brody ran his course on Homeland. But the show was at its best when he and Carrie were going head-to-head, in more ways than one. Advertisement A message from our sponsor. 9. Tara Knowles Rest in peace, Tara Knowles. You deserved better than to be carved up by Gemma in the kitchen of your own home. 10. Hershel Greene Rest in peace as well, Hershel Greene. It seems like you had so much more wisdom to pass along on The Walking Dead. 11. Allison Argent It should not come as a surprise when someone dies on a show such as Teen Wolf. But we miss you, Allison Argent! 12. Patti We mostly just love Ann Dowd, but we’re at least encouraged by the fact that Patti doesn’t appear to be fully dead on The Leftovers. Advertisement A message from our sponsor. 13. Alcide Herveaux It’s not so much that Alcide Herveaux died on True Blood. It’s that his death was glossed over and forgotten about so quickly. 14. Walter White No, it was not surprising that Walter White died to conclude Breaking Bad. But his death simply has to be acknowledged in any list such as this. 15. Denny Yes, we’re going old school here. Only because the death of Denny on Grey’s Anatomy may have been the saddest TV death of all-time. 16. Daniel Grayson Bang! Bang! He’s dead. But, hey, at least Daniel Grayson got to see Emily Thorne naked on Revenge. Advertisement A message from our sponsor. 17. Zoe Barnes Zoe Barnes met her demise when Frank Underwood pushed her in front of a train to kick off House of Cards Season 2. 18. Omar Little Omar never meant to harm anyone who didn’t deserve it on The Wire. He was shot and killed during a convenience store run. 19. King Henry King Henry went sort of insane before meeting his end on Reign. It was a blast to watch! 20. Matthew Crawley Actor Dan Stevens wanted off Downton Abbey, so producers KILLED him off. Poor, poor Mary. Advertisement A message from our sponsor. 21. Mona Vanderwaal We reserve the right to change this if it turns out Mona Vanderwaal is actually alive on Pretty Little Liars. 22. Dr. Lance Sweets We watched Sweets grow up before our eyes on Bones. And then we watched him die. 23. Harrison Wright Scandal had no choice but to kill off Harrison Wright. Just Google all actor Columbus Short got into away from set. The End. Up Next: ” 23 Shocking TV Deaths .” We’ll be redirecting you shortly…
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Malik Yoba: I Wasn’t Fired From Empire For Drug Use! Rogue Bloggers Lie!
