Chicago police denied Thursday that they had questioned Jussie Smollett about whether the "Empire" star staged the attack on him last month.
Anthony Guglielmi, the chief communications officer for the Chicago Police Department, said there was "no evidence to support" the report that detectives were investigating Smollett's allegations as a hoax.
Smollett has repeatedly said that he was assaulted in late January by masked attackers who yelled "MAGA country," then placed a rope around his neck and poured an unidentified substance on him while shouting homophobic and racial slurs.
"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 said on "Good Morning America" in an interview that aired Thursday.
Police launched an investigation as a possible hate crime and Guglielmi said earlier Thursday that detectives had identified two people of interest in the case.
Their identities were not released, but CBS Chicago later reported that their homes had been raided overnight. Police reportedly confiscated shoes, electronic devices and bleach during the raid.
A spokesperson for 20th Century Fox, which produces "Empire," also denied that Smollett was being written out of the show, on which he plays Jamal, the son of character Lucius Lyon (Terrence Howard).
"The idea that Jussie Smollett has been, or would be, written off of 'Empire' is patently ridiculous," the spokesperson said in a statement. "He remains a core player on this very successful series and we continue to stand behind him."
