'Empire' ratings are lowest in show's history amid ongoing Jussie Smollett controversy

The ongoing scrutiny and criticism of actor Jussie Smollett has seemingly taken a toll on the show that made him famous.

"Empire" ratings this Wednesday night plummeted to the lowest in the show's history, drawing in 3.97 million viewers, according to TVLine. For comparison's sake, 16.5 million people tuned in for the show's season 1 finale in 2015.

After the Tuesday announcement that Smollett would face no legal action for allegedly staging a false hate crime, the show's writing team tweeted a sly message that was overwhelmingly poorly-received online.

"See ya'll Wednesday," the account tweeted with a winking face and a photo of a news chyron reading "Prosecutors drop all charges against actor Jussie Smollett."

"You should be ashamed of yourselves," one user responded, racking up nearly twice as many likes as the original tweet.

"I think 'Empire' just essentially canceled themselves," another said. "What a suicidal PR stunt."

FOX issued a statement of support after Smollett was cleared of all 16 charges, but it has not confirmed whether "Empire" will be renewed for another season.