Authorities have issued subpoenas to obtain records from Empire’s Jussie Smollett amid reports the actor-singer allegedly staged a racist and homophobic attack on himself last month, according to a report Wednesday.
The report comes as lawyers for Smollett meet with prosecutors and police investigators.
Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said he did not know if Smollett was attending the meeting or the specifics of what was being discussed. He declined to confirm reports that subpoenas had been issued for the actor’s phone and bank records.
Smollett’s lawyers, Todd Pugh and Victor P. Henderson, did not reply to AP’s requests for comment Wednesday.
Smollett, who is black and gay and plays the character Jamal Lyon on the hit Fox television show, said the men attacked him at around 2 a.m. on Jan. 29 as he was walking home from a Subway sandwich shop in downtown Chicago. He said they beat him, made racist and homophobic comments and yelled “This is MAGA country” — an apparent reference to President Donald Trump’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again” — before looping a rope around his neck and fleeing.
Fox Entertainment and 20th Century Fox Television issued a statement Wednesday saying Smollett “continues to be a consummate professional on set” and that his character isn’t being written off the show. The statement follows reports that Smollett’s role was being slashed amid the police investigation into the reported attack.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.