Smollett Attorneys Deny He Played Role In Attack
By Associated Press
Smollett Attorneys Deny He Played Role In Attack
By Associated PressUpdated 8:12 a.m. Sunday
Attorneys for Jussie Smollett say there is no truth to reports that the “Empire” actor played a role in a reported assault on him last month by what he described as two men shouting homophobic and racial slurs.
In a statement late Saturday the lawyers say: “Nothing is further from the truth and anyone claiming otherwise is lying.” His lawyers say that Smollett will continue to cooperate with a Chicago police investigation into the reported attack.
The lawyers’ statement came after police said Saturday the investigation into the attack has “shifted” due to information received from two brothers arrested in the case then released, and police want to interview Smollett.
Police released the two Nigerian brothers without charges late Friday and said they were no longer suspects in the reported attack.
“We can confirm that the information received from the individuals questioned by police earlier in the Empire case has in fact shifted the trajectory of the investigation,” police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in an emailed statement Saturday. “We’ve reached out to the Empire cast member’s attorney to request a follow-up interview.”
Guglielmi did not elaborate on what he meant by a shift in the case.
Smollett, who is black and gay, has said he was attacked early Jan. 29 in Chicago by two masked men shouting racial and anti-gay slurs and “This is MAGA country!” He said they looped a rope around his neck before running away as he was out getting food at a Subway restaurant. He said they also poured some kind of chemical on him.
Police have said they were investigating the attack as a possible hate crime and considered Smollett a victim. Reports of the assault drew outrage and support for him on social media, including from U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris of California and TV talk show host Ellen DeGeneres.
Smollett said he was cooperating with police and gave an emotional speech during a concert in West Hollywood, California, on Feb. 2 saying that he went ahead with the show because he couldn’t let his attackers win.
Smollett also gave an interview to Robin Roberts of ABC News that aired Thursday, saying that he was “pissed” at people who did not believe he was attacked.
“I’ve heard that it was a date gone bad, which I also resent that narrative,” he said. “I’m not gonna go out and get a tuna sandwich and a salad to meet somebody. That’s ridiculous. And it’s offensive.”
Earlier this week, police said media reports that the attack was a hoax were unconfirmed.
Producers of the Fox television drama supported Smollett, saying his character on “Empire”, James Lyon, was not being written off the show.
Police said they combed surveillance video in the heavily-monitored downtown Chicago area but were unable to find any footage of the attack.
Smollett turned over redacted phone records that police said were not sufficient for a criminal investigation.
Police released grainy images of two people they said were in the area at the time of the reported attack and said they wanted to question them.
On Wednesday, Chicago police picked up the Nigerian brothers — one of whom they said worked on “Empire”— at O’Hare International Airport as they returned from Nigeria. They described them as “suspects” in the assault, questioned them and searched their apartment.
Then, late Friday evening they released the two men without charges and said they were no longer suspects. They said they had gleaned new information from their interrogation of them.
And then on Saturday, Guglielmi said the investigation had shifted.