Empire’s Jussie Smollett Is The Victim Of A Disgusting Hate Crime
Actor Jussie Smollett is recovering from injuries related to a hate crime. The Empire actor known for playing the role of “Jamal Lyon” was attacked in Chicago, Illinois and hospitalized this morning (January 29). While walking in an undisclosed section of the Windy City, two masked men directed homophobic and racial slurs towards the 35-year-old actor.
According to sources including Entertainment Tonight and TMZ, a violent physical attack followed. The two men put a rope around Smollett’s neck and doused him with bleach. Reports claim that as they left, one of the men said, “This is MAGA country.” The reference is to the “Make America Great Again” campaign Donald Trump used ahead of the 2016 election and remains a polarizing statement in the nation’s culture.
Empire Star Jussie Smollett Takes The Media To Task For Its Coverage Of Donald Trump (Video)
Previously, Jussie has spoken out against Donald Trump and those who brought him to office. In early 2016, while on The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore, the guest reacted to Trump’s fundraising on the campaign trail, “Politics is about money. At the end of the day, [a politician’s] job is to raise funds for their campaign, which is absolute bullsh*t to begin with anyways. But the point is…we’re talking about more than money. There’s nothing wrong with money. What’s wrong with that is when money is then attached to hate.”
He also condemned the media for its role. “[Donald Trump is] manipulating the media, but the media is letting him for ratings. We’re in this world right now where we’re stuck with this reality TV world. Reality TV is fun, but not when we’re talking about the presidency of the United States of America.” He later added, “to say the media is in an abusive relationship with Trump is to say that they are being abused, and they are not victims. The media’s not victims, Trump is not a victim.”
Former Cop Jason Van Dyke Sentenced To Prison For The Killing Of Laquan McDonald
Smollett was released from a Northwestern Chicago hospital this morning. He reportedly suffered a fractured rib. As of this morning, the Chicago Police Department was investigating the incident, and “treating it as a possible hate crime.”
Chicago Police Department just sent out this statement re:
Jussie Smollett pic.twitter.com/DxQswZn8xd— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) January 29, 2019
Smollett, who came out as gay while on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2015, has also starred in 2017’s Alien: Covenant in addition to 1992’s The Mighty Ducks. He also has a music career that includes collaborations with Swizz Beatz and Pitbull. Earlier this month, former Chicago Police Department officer Jason Van Dyke was sentenced to more than six years for the killing of Black teenager Laquan McDonald in 2014.
Sean “Puffy” Combs Calls Out The Blatant Racism In The Entertainment Business
Ambrosia For Heads will keep you updated on this developing story.