Jussie Smollett bravely gave his first televised interview since his attack in Chicago.
As we reported, the Empire star was allegedly the victim of a possible hate crime when two white men fractured one of his ribs, put a noose around his neck, poured a substance believed to be bleach on him, and yelled, “This is MAGA country.”
Related: Celebs React To Jussie Smollett’s Assault!
In an interview with Good Morning America, the 36-year-old told Robin Roberts that he is “pissed off” by the skepticism surrounding his case. He remarked:
“I’m pissed off. It’s the attackers, but it’s also the attacks… Like, you know, at first it was the thing of like, listen, if I tell the truth then that’s because it’s the truth. Then it became a thing of, like, how can you doubt that? How can you not believe that? It’s the truth… Then it became a thing of, like, it’s not necessarily that you don’t believe that this is the truth. You don’t even want to see the truth.”
As seen below:
As we reported last month, Chicago PD released a screen grab from surveillance footage that shows two persons of interest who were in the area at the time of the alleged assault.
Smollett wholeheartedly believes the two pictured men were his attackers. He said:
“I don’t have any doubt in my mind that that’s them. Never did.”
When Roberts asked why he was so certain, he responded:
“Cause I was there.”
WATCH (below):
.@JussieSmollett tells @RobinRoberts that there is no doubt in his mind that the men pictured in surveillance footage attacked him. "I don't have any doubt in my mind that that's them." See more of the EXCLUSIVE interview TOMORROW on @GMA. https://t.co/3HbyU2SFxe pic.twitter.com/hiNGiHDyl0
— Good Morning America (@GMA) February 13, 2019
Watch the interview (below) as more segments will air tonight on Nightline:
"I look down and I see that there's a rope around my neck." @JussieSmollett recounts the details of exactly what happened that night of his attack. https://t.co/b5efiP0JCG pic.twitter.com/VltIlf0dYy
— Good Morning America (@GMA) February 14, 2019
"I don't have any doubt in my mind that that's them. Never did." @JussieSmollett tells @RobinRoberts he knows the two people captured in an image by police are the same people who attacked him that night. https://t.co/b5efiP0JCG pic.twitter.com/tcR4OSjfAA
— Good Morning America (@GMA) February 14, 2019
"There's a level of pride there." @JussieSmollett says he waited to call police because as a gay man, he did not want to be seen as "weak." https://t.co/b5efiP0JCG pic.twitter.com/zosV9Ni78H
— Good Morning America (@GMA) February 14, 2019
.@JussieSmollett to @RobinRoberts: "It feels like if I had said it was a Muslim, or a Mexican, or someone black, I feel like the doubters would have supported me a lot much more. A lot more. And that says a lot about the place that we are in our country." https://t.co/3HbyU3agVO pic.twitter.com/LrpAzMNZet
— Good Morning America (@GMA) February 14, 2019
"I saw the rope burn around my neck, and then I smelled bleach." @JussieSmollett says he kept the rope and his clothes on until police got there so he could show them exactly what type of attack this was. https://t.co/b5efiP0JCG pic.twitter.com/gaO1xZlAFL
— Good Morning America (@GMA) February 14, 2019
Asked why he thinks he was targeted, @JussieSmollet tells @RobinRoberts: "I can just assume I come really really hard against 45. I come really really hard against his administration." https://t.co/3HbyU2SFxe pic.twitter.com/xig4TV1k5O
— Good Morning America (@GMA) February 14, 2019
"That says a lot about the place we are in our country right now." @JussieSmollett tells @RobinRoberts if his attackers were of a different race other than white, he feels he would have been more supported. https://t.co/b5efiP0JCG pic.twitter.com/7BzpTV91fP
— Good Morning America (@GMA) February 14, 2019
.@JussieSmollett to @RobinRoberts on attack: "I will never be the man that this did not happen to. I am forever changed…I do subscribe to the idea that we have the right & responsibility to make something meaningful out of the things that happen to us." https://t.co/3HbyU2SFxe pic.twitter.com/QPeSISqOXf
— Good Morning America (@GMA) February 14, 2019
"I get threatened all the time." @JussieSmollett says he's a public figure who's very outspoken and often gets threats on social media. https://t.co/b5efiP0JCG pic.twitter.com/y8F6ptuUl2
— Good Morning America (@GMA) February 14, 2019
.@JussieSmollett received a letter reading "you will die" with the return address as "MAGA" to the Fox studios in Chicago that he believes may be connected with his attack. https://t.co/b5efiP0JCG pic.twitter.com/CDSjwnYMn1
— Good Morning America (@GMA) February 14, 2019
"I want to believe, with everything that has happened, that there is something called justice." @JussieSmollett says he doesn't know how he will heal if his attackers aren't found. https://t.co/b5efiP0JCG pic.twitter.com/Shtw0qCQOZ
— Good Morning America (@GMA) February 14, 2019
[Image via Good Morning America/YouTube.]
