Malik Yoba denies outing 'Empire' co-star as gay

Empire's Jamal Lyon, played by actor Jussie Smollett, is one of many gay characters on television these days, and his sexuality is a main storyline on the hot Fox drama. Offscreen, there's also been plenty of chatter about Smollett's sexuality, which he refuses to address in interviews.

But, his co-star Malik Yoba may have broached that very topic when a Q&A he did with BlackFilm.com last month gained traction online Tuesday. In the interview, Yoba seemed to out Smollett as gay.

When asked about the success of the series and its impact, Yoba mentioned that the drama's handling of a gay relationship and the subsequent tension about Jamal's sexuality within his fictional family are important themes for audiences to see.

"I think that our show represents a huge opportunity to stay in the culture beyond entertainment value and there's an intrinsic nature of you have the gay factor, right? So, obviously, Lee (Daniels, co-creator) is gay. That was an important storyline for him. I think it's important for people to see themselves. Even within the Black community. But if you aren't really, really taking it off of screen and making it live in the community in a significant way ... like I know Jussie, he is gay, and he's very committed to issues around the LGBT community. He and I have a very close relationship."

Social media buzzed Tuesday in response to Yoba's comments, with many news outlets fingering the actor for inadvertently outing Smollett.

Others shrugged it off saying they already assumed Smollett was gay and that Yoba meant no harm by talking about his co-star's private life.

Still, others said Yoba's comments were out of line and that if Smollett wants to talk about his sexuality, he should be the one to do it, not anyone else.

In a statement sent to USA TODAY via his publicist, Yoba denied that he outed Smollett and said that his comments were about Jamal, not Jussie.

"I was misquoted in the article. My reference to Jussie was only about his character and storyline on Empire."

Smollett has yet to respond on any of his social media accounts to Yoba's comments. In a radio interview with Sway last month, Smollett says that he understands the speculation about his sexuality, but that he makes a point of not discussing his personal life.

"No, (fans shouldn't assume I'm gay), but it's also fair, and I don't see a problem with that and I don't really care. ... This is not a gay black show. This is a show about human experiences. ... I'm not willing to confirm or deny anything. I live my life. If someone is looking for a box to put me in, that's not going to happen. I live my life, and if you really want to know about me, just watch, because I don't hide anything. I just don't choose to talk about my personal life."