New information has surfaced in the ongoing investigation of the attack against the 'Empire' star.
New information regarding Jussie Smollett's attack has "shifted the trajectory of the investigation," according to Chicago police.
On Saturday evening, Anthony Guglielmi, Chief Communications Officer for the Chicago Police Department, told ET, "We can confirm that 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."
CBS News is reporting that they have sources who claim Smollett orchestrated the attack with the two men who were arrested in connection with the case on Wednesday and released on Friday without charges.
A rep for the actor did not respond to requests for comment regarding the new allegations, but did confirm to ET that Smollett is being represented by Chicago attorneys Todd Pugh and Victor Henderson. A FOX rep declined to comment.
On Saturday, CNN reported that they had two law enforcement sources who claim Chicago Police believe Smollett paid the two men to orchestrate the assault. CNN said at the time that the men were cooperating fully with law enforcement.
Rumors circulated earlier in the week that claimed that Smollett orchestrated his own attack in response to allegedly being written off Empire. However, 20th Century Fox Television and Fox Entertainment, who produce the show, released a statement to ET denying Smollett's character was being dropped from the show.
“The idea that Jussie Smollett has been, or would be, written off of Empire is patently ridiculous," the joint statement reads. "He remains a core player on this very successful series and we continue to stand behind him.”
Additionally, after the rumors surfaced on various sites, Guglielmi took to Twitter to state that rumors of the attack being staged or a hoax were "unconfirmed" by the case detectives at that time.
"Media reports about the Empire incident being a hoax are unconfirmed by case detectives. Supt 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," the statement reads.
Thursday morning, Smollett made his first television appearance since the incident, recounting the attack on Good Morning America.
"I heard as I was crossing the intersection, I heard, ‘Empire!’ I don’t answer to Empire,” he recalled. "My name ain’t Empire. And I didn’t answer. I kept walking and then I heard ‘f****t Empire n****r’ so I turned around and said, ‘The f**k did you just say to me?’”
For more on Smollett's case, watch below.
RELATED CONTENT:
