'Empire' Star Bryshere Gray Arrested For Violating Probation In Domestic Abuse Case
Bryshere Gray, who starred as Hakeem Lyon in FOX’s Empire, has been arrested for allegedly violating his probation related to his previous domestic abuse case.
Gray previously pleaded guilty to felony aggravated assault last May, which landed him behind bars in county prison for 10 days, along with three years of probation.
The guilty plea came after the 28-year-old actor had been arrested for assaulting his wife and strangling her to the point of unconsciousness.
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According to legal documents obtained by TMZ, Gray’s latest arrest stemmed from an alleged incident in Maricopa, Arizona, where a woman told police she had been romantically seeing the Empire actor, but that “his behavior was escalating and she was concerned for her safety.”
The docs lay out instances of abuse, including that he threw food at her, shouted at her and pulled on her hair. Gray had omitted these instances when speaking to his probation officer, and in turn, a warrant was issued for his arrest. He remains behind bars in Arizona.
Bryshere Gray is no stranger to the law. Aside from his 2020 domestic violence arrest, he was arrested by Chicago police in 2019 after being pulled over for a registration issue. Authorities then realized Gray had been driving his 2014 Rolls Royce without a license or insurance. He was booked on three misdemeanors and cited for driving without a license or insurance and not having proper registration.
While Empire recently wrapped its final season, co-creator Lee Daniels blamed the show’s downfall on thecontroversy surrounding actor Jussie Smollett, who was accused of staging his own hate-fueled attack in January 2019 and was eventually charged with 16 felonies related to the incident. Prosecutors ultimately dropped all charges.
“I’m not that mother fucker. Never have been,” Smollet said in a June interview on Sway In The Morning. “Don’t need to be. Didn’t need to have some sort of rise in his career. I was on the up and up. […] There would be no reason for me to do some dumb, corny shit like that. But people are going to believe what they’re going to believe.”