“Empire” star Jussie Smollett made his first public appearance on Feb. 2 following a reported homophobic and racist assault in Chicago on Jan. 29.
Smollett performed at the Troubadour in West Hollywood, Calif., a concert that had been scheduled prior to his attack. His siblings prefaced his performance with a message of support for their brother.
“If I’m honest, as his big brother, I wanted Jussie to sit this one out,” his brother Joel Smollett Jr. told the crowd. “I sincerely wanted him to stay out of the public until he heals. Then, after much debating, some arguing and many tears, my family and I realized that tonight is an important part of Jussie’s healing.”
#JussieSmollett’s siblings took the stage in LA to make a statement on behalf of the family before he performs. pic.twitter.com/AORmYreN9m
— deray (@deray) February 3, 2019
Smollett appeared on stage saying that, “I had to be here tonight. I couldn’t let those motherfuckers win.”
On Jan. 29, it was reported that Smollett was walking from a sandwich shop at 2 a.m. in Chicago when two men in ski masks approached him. They yelled homophobic and racist slurs at him, beat him, put his neck in a noose and poured a bleach-like chemical substance on him. Police are currently investigating the attack as a “possible hate crime.”
During the performance, Smollett took the time to clarify details of his alleged assault.
“Just because there’s been a lot of stuff said about me that’s absolutely not true. There’s just a couple of points I want to make really quick,” Smollett told the crowd.”I was bruised but my ribs were not cracked. They were not broken. I went to the doctor immediately. I was not hospitalized. Both my doctors in LA and in Chicago cleared me to perform, but said to take care obviously.”
“And above all, I fought the fuck back,” Smollett concluded. After receiving a huge cheer from the crowd, Smolett joked “I’m the gay Tupac.”
https://twitter.com/etnow/status/1091960211261206528
Smollett canceled his meet-and-greet at the show for security reasons. Attendees with meet-and-greet tickets were offered refunds or the money could be donated to the Black AIDS Institute.
He closed out the show by imploring the crowd to “Be as black, be as brown, be as gay as the fuck you want to be. Now is the time. Be blacker, be gayer, do it right the fuck now.”
