BY IKENNA OBIOHA
FOX series Empire’s openly gay actor Jussie Smollett has been hospitalised following an alleged homophobic assault in Chicago, USA.
The incident reportedly occurred around 2 a.m on Tuesday, January 29. The inflicted assault was carried out by two men who approached him wearing ski masks. According to sources on TMZ website, the two men noted him and charged towards him with a noose with which they used in carrying out the hate crime. The incident left the 35-year old star with a fractured rib. He is currently receiving treatment at the Northwestern memorial hospital in Chicago.
Prior to the public assault, Smollett had received a couple of threats. In the pictured letter below, it reads, “You will die black fag.”
The return address on the letter cites the ‘MAGA’, an acronym that stands for Make America Great Again, a campaign slogan famously used by president Trump during the last US general elections.
Smollett plays the character Jamal on Empire. Jamal is a gay man who finds himself entangled in the politics of running a family-owned music business outfit.