Chicago police now believe that Empire actor, Jussie Smollett paid two Nigerian men to orchestrate an assault on him that he reported late last month.
Two Nigerian brothers who had worked as extras on Empire told police that they were paid to take part in the 29 January attack, police sources said
The men, believed to be brothers, and had worked as extras on Empire, were arrested without charges on Friday and later released. They are also believed to be cooperating with the authorities.
Authorities in a statement said:
“We can confirm that the information received from the individual questioned by police earlier in the Empire case has in fact shifted the trajectory of the investigation.
They were also believed to have bought the rope found around Smollett’s neck after the attack.
Smollett told authorities he was attacked by two men who were yelling racial and homophobic slurs. He also informed police that one of the men put a rope around his neck and poured an unknown substance on him.
Meanwhile, Smollett’s lawyers in a statement have said that the actor is annoyed by the latest development. “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,” the statement read. “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.”
“At the present time, Jussie and his attorneys have no inclination to respond to ‘unnamed’ sources inside of the investigation, but will continue discussions through official channels,” the statement read.