AlthoughJussie Smollettwas the victim of anapparent hate crime, theEmpirestar was hesitant about reporting the alleged incident to authorities.
Nearly one week after the attack,ABC7 in Chicagoobtained the Chicago police incident report via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.
According to the police incident report, Smollett, 35, “did not want to report offense however he believed it to be in the best interest to,” the friend who called police said.
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The Chicago Police Department previously confirmed in a statement that a member of the hit Fox show was involved in a “racially-charged assault and battery.”
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On Wednesday, Chicago Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi released an update on the case, revealing that investigators have acquired footage that could lead to the arrests of theEmpireactor’s assailants. The police also releasedtwo photos of the persons of interestwho were in the area. However, the images did not show the individuals’ faces.
One day later, Smollett’s family released astatement about the attack.
“We want to be clear, this was a racial and homophobic hate crime. Jussie has told the police everything from the very beginning. His story has never changed, and we are hopeful they will find these men and bring them to justice,” they said Thursday. “Our family thanks everyone for their prayers and the huge amount of love he has received. We are thankful to our village for your immense support during this trying time. We are so grateful that God saw him through this cowardly attack alive. Jussie is a warrior whose light cannot be dimmed.”
Over the weekend,Smollett, who is gay, made his first public appearancesince he was targeted, and declared that he “couldn’t let those motherf—ers win.”
The actor, who was scheduled to perform at the Troubadour in Los Angeles before the attack, took the stage on Saturday at the famed venue and addressed the terrifying incident.
“There are so many words on my heart that I want to say,” began a visibly emotional Smollett. “The most important that I can say, to keep it simple, thank you so much. I’m okay… I’m not fully healed yet, but I’m going to. I’m going to stand strong with y’all.”
“I had to be here tonight,” added Smollett. “I couldn’t let those motherf—ers win. So I will always stand for love, I will never stand for anything other than that. Regardless of what anyone else says, I will only stand for love. I hope that you all stand with me.”
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Smollett performed “Heavy” fromEmpire, which he said now “has a new meaning to me,” as hisEmpire“family” watched on from the audience.
“In times of trauma or hurt or grief, we still have a responsibility to lead with love,” the actor said. “If we don’t, then we just die inside, and we’ve got to f—ing live, ya’ll. The hateful rhetoric that gets thrown around — I’m not going to name no names, I don’t care to… it has to stop. But guess what — it stops with the people that believe in love.”
“We have literally only just begun,” Smollett continued. “I would not have been able to get through it without obviously my family, but also the love and support of all ya’ll. I don’t take it lightly… I’m so proud of myself.”
Smollett left the stage, but the crowd cheered for an encore. After returning to the spotlight, Smollett performed “Powerful” and took the time to clarify reports about the apparent hate crime.
“Just because there has been a lot of stuff that has been said about me that is absolutely not true,” said Smollett. “There are just a couple of points that I wanted to make really quick… I was bruised, but my ribs were not cracked. I went to the doctor immediately — I was not hospitalized. Both my doctors in L.A. and Chicago cleared me to perform but said to take it easy, obviously. And, above all, I fought the f— back.”
source: people.com
