Empire actor Jussie Smollett assaulted in possible hate crime, police say
Actor Jussie Smollett has been hospitalized after being brutally assaulted in what police are treating as a possible hate crime.
Chicago police say Smollett, who is openly gay and plays a gay character on the Fox drama Empire, was attacked while leaving a restaurant Tuesday by two suspects who yelled racist and homophobic slurs at him, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The attackers also reportedly poured a chemical substance over him and wrapped a rope around his neck. NBC News reports the chemical substance is thought to have been bleach.
Police say that Smollett is recovering at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and is in "good condition," Variety reports.
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