As police continue to investigate Tuesday morning’s alleged homophobic, racist attack on Empire’s Jussie Smollett, two of the actor/singer’s co-stars have reached out with love and support. His Empire dad, Terrence Howard, told Good Morning America on Wednesday (Jan. 30) that when the news hit the set of the long-running Fox musical drama, “jaws dropped to the ground…and then we learned that there had been letters that had been set to Fox as threats about the potential of something like this, then we became much more frightened.”
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According to reports, prior to the attack, police said that a letter with anti-gay epithets and white powder were mailed to the studios where Empire is filmed on Jan. 22. It was reportedly addressed to one of the show’s actors, triggering a hazardous materials call to fire officials who determined the powder was not hazardous; the FBI has taken over the probe into the letter. TMZ reported on Wednesday that Smollett had turned down an offer of extra security in the wake of the letter, as security was beefed up for all the cast members last week on the Chicago set of the show.
Howard told GMA that Smollett is on the mend and though he’s angry with the as-yet-unnamed and still at-large alleged assailants, he will forgive them. “Jussie’s anger will dissipate, and he will forgive these people for what they did,” Howard said. “But he won’t, and we cannot, forget their actions. They have to be forgiven because it was done out of ignorance.” Howard, whose character has slowly come to accept his on-screen gay son’s sexuality — Smollett came out in 2015, just after his character Jamal Lyon did the same on the show — had nothing but the highest praise for his co-star.
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“Jussie’s the one that starts singing when everybody’s in a bad mood,” Howard said. “He’s the one that cheers everybody up. He’s the one that does all the Instagrams if he catches you sleeping…today, no one was caught sleeping. No one even took time to close their eyes and nap. They were all in shock that our family — you know, the Fox family, the Empire family, the Lyon family — you know, were attacked by a bunch of hyenas today.”
Smollett was taken to a hospital on Tuesday morning in Chicago after police said two men approached him yelling homophobic and racist slurs and then allegedly assaulted him and poured an unidentified chemical on his body. Smollett was briefly hospitalized and has spoken to police about the incident — during which he reportedly had a noose wrapped around his neck by the assailants — but has not made a public comment to date.
On Wednesday night’s Tonight Show, SNL‘s Kenan Thompson sent out his thoughts to his former Mighty Ducks co-star, telling host Jimmy Fallon, “We should send some love to Jussie Smollett…we’re sending a lot of love to the Smollett family. Send a lot of love to the universe because this kind of madness needs to stop.”
Jussie Smollett’s “Empire” co-star @terrencehoward on alleged attack: “Today, no one was caught sleeping.” https://t.co/ey4LrdAZPU pic.twitter.com/odmVNtJbPB
— Good Morning America (@GMA) January 30, 2019
Outpouring of support from “Empire” star Jussie Smollett’s co-stars after alleged attack. @DebRobertsABC reports. https://t.co/QaGPMd3DcO pic.twitter.com/le57YjWZnK
— Good Morning America (@GMA) January 30, 2019