Singer and Empire star Jussie Smollett may have been attacked early Tuesday in what Chicago Police said could have been a hate crime.
The 36-year-old claimed he was leaving a restaurant around 2:00 a.m. when two suspects started yelling racist and homophobic slurs at him. They allegedly punched Smollett in the face and poured an “unknown chemical substance” on him.
Police said Smollett claimed that at one point, a suspect wrapped a rope around his neck.
“The Chicago Police Department received a report of a possible racially-charged assault and battery involving a cast member of the television show Empire," read a statement from Chicago Police. "Given the severity of the allegations, we are taking this investigation very seriously and treating it as a possible hate crime.”
Although set in New York City, Empire is shot in Chicago. Smollett, who is openly gay, plays Jamal Lyon on the show. Last March, he released the album Sum of My Music.