Jussie Smollett accused of staging attack on himself

When news of Empire star Jussie Smollet’s attack broke about three weeks ago, it caused a media frenzy and a mixed outpouring of sympathy and condemnation.

“We are deeply saddened and outraged to learn that a member of our Empire family, Jussie Smollet, was viciously attacked last night,” 20th Century Fox Television said on the show’s official Twitter page.

The show’s co-creator, Lee Daniels, posted his strong reaction on Instagram.

“… Hold your head up, Jussie. I’m with you. I’ll be there in a minute. It’s just another f—ing day in America,” he said in a video posted not long after news of the attack made headlines.

The actor was allegedly attacked in the early hours of Tuesday morning January 29, in Chicago, while leaving a Subway sandwich outlet.

Now, in an unexpected turn, two Chicago police officers with knowledge of the case have told CNN they believed Smollet paid two Nigerian foreign nationals to orchestrate an assault on him.

The perpetrators have since been released without charge.

Meanwhile, Smollett, who has starred in Fox’s Empire since 2015 as Jamal, a successful singer who identifies as gay, has denied the allegations.

During an interview with ABC’s Good Morning America, he expressed frustration at not being believed.

“It feels like if I had said it was a Muslim or a Mexican, or someone black, I feel like the doubters would have supported me a lot much more. And that says a lot about the place where we are as a country right now.”

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.