On Tuesday morning at 2a in Chicago,
Jussie Smollett was attacked by 2 strangers who hit him, yelled homophobic and racist slurs at him, threw an unidentified chemical (he says bleach) at the actor and placed a noose around his neck. He was able to get away from them and call the police. After speaking with the cops, he took himself to the hospital and was hospitalized.
He has been on the mend ever since the horrific hate crime and today he finally broke his silence. The Empire star told Essence, “Let me start by saying that I’m OK. My body is strong but my soul is stronger. More importantly I want to say thank you. The outpouring of love and support from my village has meant more than I will ever be able to truly put into words.”
Then he addressed the misinformation that is being reported about the incident. He said, “I am working with authorities and have been 100% factual and consistent on every level. Despite my frustrations and deep concern with certain inaccuracies and misrepresentations that have been spread, I still believe that justice will be served.”
Smollett knows that this is not an isolated attack and he has a takeaway from it. He wants people to know, “Most importantly, during times of trauma, grief and pain, there is still a responsibility to lead with love. It’s all I know. And that can’t be kicked out of me.”
For now, he still needs time to process what happened to him. After he has done that, then he promises to talk more about the heinous crime that changed his life. For now, this is all he is saying.
He is not letting this stop him from doing what he loves. He is expected to go on with the show at the Troubadour tomorrow night in LA. We cannot late the haters win because that is what they want.
