Empire actor, Jussie Smollett, has denied claims, through his lawyers, that he orchestrated his own attack on January 29.
The Chicago Police Department, after questioning two Nigerian brothers, said the investigation was heading in a new direction.
Chicago Police spokesperson, Anthony Guglielmi, on Saturday, said, “We can confirm that the information received from the individuals questioned by police… has in fact shifted the trajectory of the investigation. We’ve reached out to the Empire cast member’s attorney to request a follow-up interview.”
An unnamed police source was quoted by US media as saying “the new direction of the investigation is now based on the premise that Mr. Smollett was an active participant in the incident.”
However, Smollett’s lawyers, in a statement on Saturday evening, said, “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 the interviewed persons of interest is said to have worked as an extra on Empire.
The actor’s lawyers also confirmed that one of the men worked as Smollett’s trainer for a music video.
Both Nigerian brothers were released by police on Friday without charges.
“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,” the lawyers’ statement further read.
Openly gay Smollett was attacked on January 29 as he walked back to his apartment from a Subway sandwich shop.
The actor said two masked individuals spewed racist and homophobic slurs, doused him with an unknown chemical substance.
