Chicago police are now pushing back on media reports that said the alleged attack on Empire actor Jussie Smollett was a hoax and say the reports are โunconfirmed by case detectives.โ
Two Chicago media outlets reported Thursday that multiple sources told them that investigators believe the attack was staged.
Police spent much of Thursday interviewing two persons of interest in the case, who are believed to have been seen on surveillance images on the night of the attack.
RELATED: Jussie Smollett Denies Claims of Being Uncooperative with Police Investigation
Rob Elgas, a reporter at ABC 7 in Chicago, reported Thursday afternoon that โmultiple sourcesโ said Smollett and the two men staged the attack because his character was being written off the show. Brad Edwards, a reporter at CBS Chicago, cited a source who said investigators believe the โnon-cooperating 2 witnesses are co-conspirators in a potentially staged attack.โ
BREAKING: Multiple soucres tell @ABC7Chicago Eyewitness News Jussie Smollet and the 2 men who are being questioned by police staged the attack โ allegedly because his character was being written out of the show Empire.
โ Rob Elgas (@RobElgasABC7) February 15, 2019
Thursday morning an angry Jussie Smollett told Good Morning America about the alleged attack outside his Streeterville apartment.
โIโm pissed off,โ he said. โI heard โEmpire.โ I donโt answer to Empire. My name ainโt Empire. And I didnโt answer. I kept walking. And then I heard f****t Empire n****r. So I turned around, and then I said, โWhat the f**k did you just say to me?'โ
RELATED: Jussie Smollett Says He โCanโt Let the Motherf**kers Winโ at First Show Since Attack
He says he was beaten, doused with bleach and had a rope wrapped around his neck.
But were the figures on the surveillance video responsible?
โI donโt have any doubt in my mind that thatโs them,โ Smollett said. โNever did.โ
Anthony Guglielmi, a Chicago police spokesman, posted on Twitter that ABC7โs sources are inaccurate.
Detectives are interviewing two โpersons of interestโ who surveillance photos show were in the area of downtown Chicago where Empire actor Jussie Smollett said he was attacked last month, police said Thursday (Feb. 14).
The two men arenโt considered suspects but may have been in the area at the time Smollett said he was attacked, Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said. Smollett said two masked men shouted racial and homophobic slurs before attacking him and putting a rope around his neck at about 2 a.m. on Jan. 29.
RELATED: Jussie Smollettโs Reps Clarify Assault Details
โMedia reports [about] the Empire incident being a hoax are unconfirmed by case detectives,โ he wrote. โSupt Eddie Johnson has contacted @ABC7Chicago to state on the record that we have no evidence to support their reporting and their supposed CPD sources are uninformed and inaccurate.โ
Pamela Sharp, a spokeswoman for Smollett, said the reports were โridiculous rumors.โ
โHeโs been very cooperative and very consistent,โ she said.
In a statement, Fox denied that Smollett was being written off the show.
โThe idea that Jussie Smollett has been, or would be, written off of โEmpireโ is patently ridiculous,โ the network and studio said in a joint statement. โHe remains a core player on this very successful series and we continue to stand behind him.โ