‘Empire’ star Jussie Smollett hospitalised following homophobic attack
TMZ reported the actor was hospitalised but has since been released.
By Steve Brown
Empire star Jussie Smollett is reportedly in hospital after being attacked in what appears to be a premeditated homophobic attack.
The openly gay actor – who has portrayed gay character Jamal Lyon in the hit show for five seasons since 2015, the same year he came out on The Ellen DeGeneres Show – was reportedly filming the upcoming season of the hit Fox show in Chicago, where he lives.
The attack comes after he was sent a horrifying letter with cut out letters reading: “You will die black f*g.”
According to ThatGrapeJuice.net, the two attackers were wearing ski masks attacked him at around 2am on January 29 and tied a noose around the actor’s neck.
Smollett was taken to hospital but TMZ report he has been released.
Chicago Police Department told the publication they are investigating the incident as a battery.
In an obtained email, they detailed the attack: “A 36-year-old man was walking at above address when two unknown offenders approached him 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.
“At some point during the incident, one of the victims wrapped a rope around the victims neck. The offenders fled the scene. The victm self-transported to Northwestern Hospital and is good condition.”