Kevin Hart has sent his best wishes to Jussie Smollett, who was attacked in what has been described as a hate crime.
The musician and Empire star was approached by two men who yelled racial and homophobic slurs at him at approximately 2am on Tuesday, according to a police statement provided to The Independent.
“The offenders began to batter the victim with their hands about the face and poured an unknown chemical substance on the victim,” the statement reads.
“At some point during the incident, one of the offenders wrapped a rope around the victim’s neck.”
Hart responded to the news on Twitter, writing: “Sending prayers your way @JussieSmollett.... This is unbelievably sad. Why are we going backwards.... this is disgusting. We as people have to do better. WTF is going on the world????”.
The comedian recently stepped down from hosting this year’s Oscars after past tweets in which he made homophobic statements resurfaced. He later embarked on an apology tour, and “sincerely apologised” to the LGBTQ community for his words.
Smollett is now in “good condition”, according to the police.
The actor, who plays Jamal Lyon in Empire, has publicly identified as gay, telling Out magazine in 2016: ”I am a gay man with an extremely open heart.”
