Actor Jussie Smollett Denies Staging Hate Crime, Claims he Had Sexual Relationship With One Attacker

On January 2019, the star of musical drama Empire made the headlines after it became known that he was attacked by two men, who shouted racial and homophobic slurs. A subsequent investigation revealed that the two men were actually paid by Smollett to stage the crime for the sake of promoting his career. The actor has denied the accusations.