Jussie Smollett recounted in great detail what transpired on the night he was attacked in Chicago and expressed his frustration over those who are doubting his account.
The "Empire" actor, who says he was jumped by a pair of attackers early one morning two weeks ago, said in a new interview with ABC News that he initially ignored it when someone yelled "Empire!" at him, but he turned around once the person hurled expletives in his direction.
The masked attacker said "MAGA country" and shouted a slur, Smollett said, and punched him in the face.
"So I punched his a(ASTERISK)(ASTERISK) back," Smollett told Robin Roberts in the interview that aired Thursday on "Good Morning America." "And then we started tussling. It was very icy, and we ended up tussling by the stairs, fighting, fighting, fighting. There was a second person involved who was kicking me in my back, and then it just stopped and they ran off."
Smollett, who had gone out to get Subway that morning, says he was on the phone with his manager when the confrontation occurred, and that his manager was still on the line when he picked up his phone afterward.
It was only after the attack, Smollett said, that he noticed a rope around his neck.
"I started screaming," Smollett said. "I said, 'There's a (expletive) rope around my neck.' "
Smollett said the confrontation "felt like minutes" but probably lasted around 30 seconds.
The "Empire" star, 36, said he'd seen an image released by Chicago police showing two persons of interest and shared his belief that those are his attackers.
"For me, when that was released, I was like, 'OK, we're getting somewhere.' I don't have any doubt in my mind that that's them," he said. "Never did."
Chicago police are investigating the case as a possible hate crime. They said last month that Smollett was allegedly attacked by two people who placed a rope around his neck, poured an unidentified substance on him and yelled homophobic and racial slurs at him.
In the new interview, Smollett said he was "pissed off" that anyone is doubting his story.
"It feels like if I had said it was a Muslim, or a Mexican, or someone black, I feel like the doubters would have supported me much more. A lot more," the actor said. "And that says a lot about the place that we are in our country right now."
He also explained why he didn't want to hand his phone over to police amid their investigation.
"I have private pictures and videos and numbers," he told Roberts. "My partner's number. My family's number. My castmates' number. My friends numbers. My private emails. My private songs. My private voice memos. I don't know what that's going to be to hand over my phone. And honestly by then, inaccurate, false statements had already been put out there."
Smollett said he did his best to give a physical description of his attackers to authorities, but that much of their faces were covered. He said he only managed to catch a glimpse of one of the men as he was running away.
The actor added that his clavicle was "messed up" and that a rib was bruised following the attack, but that he was able to walk in and out of the hospital.
He was initially optimistic after seeing a street camera in the vicinity of the attack, but officials later told him the camera was facing in the opposite direction.
Smollett also addressed what he believes the attackers' motive to be.
"I could only go off of their words. I mean, who says, "f _ _ g 'Empire' n _ _ r," "This is MAGA country, n _ _ r," ties a noose around your neck, and pours bleach on you?" he asked Roberts. "And this is just a friendly fight?"
When asked why he believes he was targeted, Smollett suggested it might of had to do with his outspokenness against President Trump.
"I can just assume, I mean, I come really, really hard against 45," he said. "I come really, really hard against his administration, and I don't hold my tongue."
Chicago police have not come across video of the confrontation itself, but have seen footage showing Smollett with the rope draped around him. Their investigation is ongoing.
