New evidence concerning the Jussie Smollett case has been revealed, leading to a turn of events. Empire actor Jussie Smollett originally claimed that two men had attacked him outside of a hotel in Chicago. The attack was considered to be a hate crime due to the fact that, according to Smollett, the attackers had yelled derogatory slurs at him like “Empire fa***t” and “Empire n***er.'” Smollett is openly gay and plays a gay character named Jamal on the Fox TV Empire series. Smollett also claimed that one of the men, who happen to be brothers, had taunted “This is MAGA (‘Make America Great Again’) country.”

However, new facts have led to allegations that Smollett may have staged the attack. The two brothers were caught and arrested on Wednesday after surveillance footage was found. Surprisingly, just two days later, the suspects were released. According to police, “the information received from the individuals questioned by police earlier in the Empire case 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.” Anthony Guglielmi, spokesman for the Chicago Police, announced the release was “due to new evidence as a result of today’s investigations.” He added that one of the suspects had actually appeared on the show Empire and that Smollett knew both of the men. Additionally, Smollett alleged one of the men had put a rope around his neck. It was found that the men had bought the rope at a nearby hardware store, which raised some eyebrows.

Smollett adamantly denies these claims, according to his attorneys Todd S. Pugh and Victor P. Henderson. In a statement, they asserted that “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.” The statement added that: “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.”  

Since the release of the brothers, police have requested Smollett speak with them more about the incident. However, no arrangements have been made.