The Chicago Police Department has named Jussie Smollett a suspect for filing a false police report.
The announcement came Wednesday on the Chicago P.D.'s Facebook page and Chicago PD Chief Communications Officer Anthony Guglielmi's Twitter.
Smollett, who stars in Fox's Empire, filed a report Jan. 29 alleging that he was attacked by two people who yelled homophobic and racial slurs at him. In the report, he also alleged that the attackers strung a rope around his neck and threw a chemical substance on him.
The actor and singer's report came under scrutiny, however, during the police investigation after Nigerian brothers Olabinjo "Ola" Osundairo and Abimbola "Abel" Osundairo, who had connections to Smollett, were identified as the persons seen on security footage the night of the incident. The brothers were questioned and released without charges being filed.
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Empire producers have stood by Smollett during the investigation, even amid reports that he had allegedly paid the brothers to stage the attack.
“Jussie Smollett continues to be a consummate professional on set and as we have previously stated, he is not being written out of the show,” 20th Century Fox Television and Fox Entertainment said Wednesday in a statement.
