The 'Empire' star thanked his fans for their outpouring of support during this difficult time.
Jussie Smollett is breaking his silence after being the target of a homophobic and racist attack in Chicago earlier this week.
The Empire star released a statement on Friday, addressing it to the "beautiful people" and revealing that he is "OK."
"Let me start by saying I am OK. My body is strong but my soul is stronger," Smollett's statement began. "More importantly, I want to say thank you. The outpouring of love and support from my village has meant more than I will ever be able to truly put into words. I am working with authorities and have been 100% factual and consistent on every level. Despite my frustrations and deep concern with certain inaccuracies and misrepresentations that have been spread, I still believe that justice will be served."
"As my family stated, these types of cowardly attacks are happening to my sisters, brothers and non-gender conforming siblings daily. I am not and should not be looked upon as an isolated incident," the statement continues. "We will talk soon and I will address all details of this horrific incident, but I need a moment to process. Most importantly, during times of trauma, grief and pain, there is still a responsibility to lead with love. It’s all I know. And that can’t be kicked out of me. With Love, respect & honor…Jussie."
The new statement from Smollett comes just one day after the 35-year-old actor's family broke their silence on the incident.
"In the early hours of Tuesday morning, our beloved son and brother, Jussie, was the victim of a violent and unprovoked attack," the Smollett Family said in a statement to ET. "We want to be clear, this was a racial and homophobic hate crime. Jussie has told the police everything from the very beginning. His story has never changed, and we are hopeful they will find these men and bring them to justice."
"Our family thanks everyone for their prayers and the huge amount of love he has received. We are thankful to our village for your immense support during this trying time. We are so grateful that God saw him through this cowardly attack alive," the statement continued. "Jussie is a warrior whose light cannot be dimmed. We want people to understand these targeted hate crimes are happening to our sisters, brothers and our gender non-conforming siblings, many who reside within the intersection of multiple identities, on a monthly, weekly, and sometimes even daily basis all across our country. Oftentimes ending fatally, these are inhumane acts of domestic terrorism and they should be treated as such. They will continue to occur until we hold each other accountable."
As previously reported, a source told ET that Smollett was walking around Chicago when two men started yelling racial and homophobic slurs at him, before repeatedly hitting him. The men then poured a substance on him (believed to be bleach), according to the source, and one of the attackers put a rope around his neck. Smollett was then taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
A spokesperson for the Chicago Police Department told ET earlier this week that Smollett told detectives late Tuesday afternoon in a follow-up interview that his two attackers yelled, "MAGA country" to him during the attack, referring to President Donald Trump's "Make America Great Again" campaign slogan.
ET also learned that Smollett's manager, Brandon Z. Moore, told police he was on the phone with the actor during the attack, and that Moore said he told police he clearly heard the MAGA comment in addition to both racial and homophobic slurs. Additionally, ET has learned that Smollett is cooperating with police and the ongoing investigation.
Watch the video below for more details.
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