Jussie Smollett’s Attorney has released a statement on behalf of his client, where he denied that the Empire actor orchestrated his alleged ‘homophobic and racial’ attack on January 29th 2019.
Smollett’s Attorney in his statement, refuted the claims, where he said the actor is a victim of a hate crime who has cooperated with the police investigation, and he is angered and devastated by recent reports that the perpetrators are individuals he is familiar with.
According to Variety report, the Chicago police want to interview Smollett, after learning new evidence from two Nigerian brothers who were released on Friday night. Local media outlets have reported that the brothers admitted to police that Smollett paid them to carry out the attack. Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi issued a statement earlier Saturday saying that the new evidence “shifted the trajectory of the investigation.”
See full statement from Smollett’s Attorney:
“As a victim of a hate crime who has cooperated with the police investigation, Jussie Smollett is angered and devastated by recent reports that the perpetrators are individuals he is familiar with. He has now been further victimized by claims attributed to these alleged perpetrators that Jussie played a role in his own attack. Nothing is further from the truth and anyone claiming otherwise is lying.
“One of these purported suspects was Jussie’s personal trainer who he hired to ready him physically for a music video. It is impossible to believe that this person could have played a role in the crime against Jussie or would falsely claim Jussie’s complicity.
“Jussie and his attorneys anticipate being further updated by the Chicago Police Department on the status of the investigation and will continue to cooperate. At the present time, Jussie and his attorneys have no inclination to respond to ‘unnamed’ sources inside of the investigation, but will continue discussions through official channels.”