“Empire” Producer Lee Daniels Not Dating Jussie Smollett, Despite Rumors

Empire star Jussie Smollett and his producer, director Lee Daniels, raised some eyebrows and grabbed a lot of attention when they shared some PDA on stage during the 2016 Human Rights Campaign Dinner Gala. Rumors started flying left and right after the two men embraced and shared a passionate kiss on stage over the weekend.

According to Gossip Cop, everyone can chill out because the dating rumors aren't true. They claimed that the infamous gossip site, Media Take Out, blew up the story and ran with it.

MTO reported that everyone was in "shock" after the actor kissed his director. The gossip site claimed that the kiss confirmed their relationship. "There have long been rumors that Lee and Jussie were 'dating'... But after that kiss... the rumors appear to have been confirmed."

Gossip Cop claims the entire story is just ridiculous. Empire was honored during the Gala for its awareness of LGBT equality. Gossip Cop explained that a kiss didn't mean that Smollett and Daniels are a couple. They believe that Media Take Out jumped into a story because of the photo that was taken showing Smollett and Daniels kissing.

If you want to go into more detail, Daniels has been dating Jahil Fisher for some time now. Fisher was also present at the Human Rights Campaign Dinner Gala. Daniels also publicly gave a a shout out to his partner during his speech.

 Stop the presses，this rumor is not true. #jussiesmollett himself stepped through the Berry Vine to clear this up. Thanks @jussiesmollett，come though any time. Hella love

A photo posted by Celeberry Tea, Music, Style (@hellaberry2) on Mar 22, 2016 at 9:25am PDT

Sick of the rumors, Smollett decided to address the chaos and confirmed that he was not dating Daniels. He replied to one critic, saying that "no one knew" about his rumored relationship because there isn't one! Smollett also claimed that Daniels was like a "father" to him. Empire returns with an all new season on March 30.

RT if you're ready to step into the Lyon's den next week! #Empirehttps://t.co/gTnmALbt0f — Empire (@EmpireFOX) March 23, 2016