The Chicago Police Department is investigating a brutal attack on Empire star, Jussie Smollett. The 36-year-old actor and singer was jumped by two white men late Monday. It is being treated as a possible hate crime.
“Overnight, the Chicago Police Department received a report of a possible racially charged assault and battery involving a cast member of the television show Empire,” police told Yahoo. “Given the severity of the allegations, we are taking this investigation very seriously and treating it as a possible hate crime. Detectives are currently working to gather video, identify potential witnesses and establish an investigative timeline. The victim is fully cooperating with investigators and we ask anyone with information about this incident to contact Area Central Detectives at 312-747-8382.”
If anyone has information and wishes to report it anonymously, they can do so here.
TMZ has disturbing details of the altercation. After arriving home in Chicago from New York, Smollett was hungry and went to a Subway around 2 a.m. As he was leaving, one of the men purportedly yelled, “Aren’t you that f****t Empiren*****?”
The two white men were apparently wearing ski masks and attacked Smollett, who tried to fight back. They put a rope around his neck and poured bleach on him. The Fox star was treated for a fractured rib at Northwestern Memorial and discharged Tuesday.
Chicago Police Department confirms to Yahoo that the two unknown offenders approached Smollett “and gained his attention by yelling out racial and homophobic slurs towards him. The offenders began to batter the victim with their hands about the face and poured an unknown chemical substance on the victim.”
Police also confirm that one of the offenders wrapped a rope around Smollett’s neck. The actor is now in “good condition.”