Actor Jussie Smollett was on the set of his Fox show “Empire” last night, hours after he was arrested and accused of filing a false report in the January 29 incident in which he said he was the victim of a hate crime.
The 36-year-old actor called a meeting of the cast and crew and apologized for any embarrassment they might have felt during his alleged hate crime attack saga. But a person who was there was shocked and dismayed when Smollett stuck to his story of innocence and blamed the media and the legal system for his troubles, the source said.
Police say Smollett paid two brothers $3,500 to stage the attack in a bid to advance his career. In a news briefing, Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson tore into Smollett, saying the actor “took advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career,” adding: “Bogus police reports cause real harm.”