'The View' on Chicago police department's handling of Jussie Smollett's case: 'He hasn't been tried and convicted yet'

News of 20th Century Fox's decision to remove Jussie Smollett from the final episodes of "Empire" following his arrest led co-hosts of "The View" to discuss if his case has become a public spectacle.

Actor Jussie Smollett was arrested early Thursday morning. Shortly thereafter, a judge set his bond to $100,000 and he posted bail at $10,000.

Smollett left the courthouse Thursday and reportedly headed to the "Empire" studio to apologize to staff and crew, and maintain his innocence following his felony charge of disorderly conduct for allegedly filing a false police report. Police allege that Smollett staged his own attack. Smollett has denied the allegations.

Moments after confirmation that Smollett's character was dropped from the final episodes of "Empire," though, co-hosts on "The View" weighed in on the decision and how Smollet's case is being handled and received by the public.

"He hasn't been tried and convicted yet," Sunny Hostin reminded viewers. "If it is true, it is shameful, it is heinous...there is a problem here but again, for the [Chicago] Police Department to come out and lay this all out, we have to still be skeptical."

Ana Navarro defended how the CPD dealt with Smollett's case. "They put some of the stuff out there because they wanted the public's help," she said.

"But also, it was Jussie Smollett putting out a lot of this information," Navarro continued. "Part of the reason that he's getting the court of public opinion is his own fault."

"Empire's" creators and executive producers, Lee Daniels, Danny Strong, Brett Mahoney, Brian Grazer, Sanaa Hamri, Francie Calfo and Dennis Hammer, released a joint statement about Smollett's standing with the show.

"The events of the past few weeks have been incredibly emotional for all of us. Jussie has been an important member of our Empire family for the past five years and we care about him deeply," they said. "While these allegations are very disturbing, we are placing our trust in the legal system as the process plays out. We are also aware of the effects of this process on the cast and crew members who work on our show and to avoid further disruption on set, we have decided to remove the role of ‘Jamal’ from the final two episodes of the season."

According to a source close to Smollett, the actor was reportedly told he's not fired from the show.

"All I see is this on the news now. This is the big story. It's wiped everything away," Joy Behar said on the media's coverage of Smollett.

"Until Michael Cohen talks next Wednesday, this is what we're going to hear."

"A lot of people feel conned by this. A lot of people...came out defending him," Meghan McCain said. "I think that's why he's getting the backlash he's getting right now."

Hostin agreed with McCain's point, saying she later "took a step back" from her emotions.

"I don't think that people that believed him and wanted to support someone who was purporting to be a victim should be embarrassed, because we need to believe people that are saying that they were a victim of hate crimes," Hostin said.

Hostin said she recently spoke with one of Smollett's attorneys Mark Geragos, whom she's known and worked with for a number of years.

"If I were in trouble he'd be the first call I'd make," she said. "He's going to mount a vigorous defense."

On Thursday evening, Smollett's legal defense team released a statement criticizing CPD's handling of the case.

"Today we witnessed an organized law enforcement spectacle that has no place in the American legal system. The presumption of innocence, a bedrock in the search for justice, was trampled upon at the expense of Mr. Smollett and notably, on the eve of a Mayoral election," the statement read. "Mr. Smollett is a young man of impeccable character and integrity who fiercely and solemnly maintains his innocence and feels betrayed by a system that apparently wants to skip due process and proceed directly to sentencing."

Abby Huntsman said she believes the CPD "wanted it to appear like they had control of the situation" and questioned if that would help or hurt Smollett’s legal case.

Hostin commented that most defense attorneys would agree that what CPD did "was unethical." She went on to share her own legal strategy when she prosecuted cases. "I wouldn't let the other side see my entire playbook," she said.

Smollett is due to appear in court on March 14.

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