Jussie Smollett, star of "Empire," has been hospitalized after a brutal assault. TMZ reports that the actor was attacked by two men, who shoved a noose around his neck, and dubbed him an intruder of "MAGA country." According to the publication, Smollett had recently traveled from New York to Chicago. Around2AM, he decided to head to a Subway to grab a bite. As he left, a man reportedly screamed out "Aren't you that fa**ot "Empire" n*****?"
Both ski-mask clad men were white, and proceeded to attack Jussie. Though he attempted to fight back, Jussie was ultimately outnumbered, and the men doled out a vicious assault that left him with a fractured rib. Apparently, the men poured bleach on him, placed a noose around his neck, and left him with a parting shot: "This is MAGA country."
As if that weren't enough to deem the assault as racially motivated, it would appear that the attackers had been planning this for a minute. TMZ claims that the attackers sent a letter to Fox's Chicago studio, along with the sinister yet undeniably ignorant message of "You will die black f**." Grape Juice has provided pictures of the threat, which you can check out here.
Though the attack was likely traumatizing, Smollett has since been discharged from the hospital. Sadly, the attackers remain at large, Chicago PD are on the lookout; as of now, they're treating this as a possible hate crime. The actor, nor his camp, have yet to directly respond to the attack. Send your thoughts and prayers to Jussie Smollett.