Empire star Jussie Smollett has been hospitalised following an alleged homophobic and racially motivated attack in Chicago yesterday (January 29).
A statement released by the Chicago Police Department said that they received reports of a “possible racially-charged assault and battery involving a cast member of the television show ‘Empire’.
The statement continued: “Given the severity of the allegations, we are taking this investigation very seriously and treating it as a possible hate crime.”
Describing the incident, the Chicago Police Department added: “A 36-year-old man was walking…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 offenders wrapped a rope around the victim’s neck. The offenders fled the scene.
“The victim self-transported to Northwestern Hospital and is [in] good condition. Area centra detectives are investigating.”
Following the incident, celebrities including Kevin Hart and Emma Watson have shared their support for Smollett in the aftermath.
Emma Watson also shared her support. She wrote on Twitter that she was “disgusted” by the “ugly prejudice and bigotry behind this violence”.
