Smollett claimed he was the victim of a racist and homophobic assault last month. But Chicago police alleged he staged the act as a publicity stunt because he was unhappy with his "Empire" salary. Smollett made $65,000 per episode for the Fox show , according to HuffPost reporter Yashar Ali, who cited a "well-placed source." Empire has 18 episodes a season. A Fox rep declined to comment on Smollett's compensation.
"Empire" is on its fifth season, and Smollett has been a member of the cast since the beginning. How does his reported salary stack up against some of the highest-paid actors in television?
Norman Reedus is now making $1 million an episode for "The Walking Dead" after costar Andrew Lincoln departed the show, according to Variety . The stars of HBO's "Westworld" are getting big raises ahead of the sci-fi drama's third season, The Hollywood Reporter reported in October.
And Jim Parsons of CBS' "The Big Bang Theory" made headlines last summer for walking away from a reported two-year, $50 million paycheck for two more seasons of the sitcom, which CBS subsequently decided to end this year.
Below are some of TV's highest-paid actors and how much they make:
$1,000,000 Norman Reedus, "The Walking Dead" (AMC)
$1,000,000 Elisabeth Moss, "The Handmaids Tale" (Hulu)
$1,000,000 Nicole Kidman, "Big Little Lies" (HBO)
$1,000,000 Jim Parsons, "The Big Bang Theory" (CBS)
$650,000 Dwayne Johnson, "Ballers" (HBO)
$600,000 Julia Roberts, "Homecoming" (Amazon)
$575,000 Ellen Pompeo, "Greys Anatomy" (ABC)
$500,000 Sean Penn, "The First" (Hulu)
$500,000 Kit Harington, "Game of Thrones" (HBO)
$375,000 John Goodman, "The Conners" (ABC)
$350,000 Millie Bobby Brown, "Stranger Things" (Netflix)
$250,000 Sterling K. Brown, "This Is Us" (NBC)
$250,000 Evan Rachel Wood, "Westworld" (HBO)
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