Jussie Smollett cries as he gives first interview about homophobic and racist attack
Jussie Smollett has given his first interview about the shocking racist and homophobic attack he was subjected to as he walked home from a Subway in Chicago last month at 2am.
The Empire actor spoke to ABC's Robin Roberts for an interview that will air on Good Morning America on Thursday morning.
In a brief promo for the interview, he is seen tearing up after Roberts asked him if he feared for his life at any point during the attack.
In a second teaser released later on Wednesday, the actor hit out at the mountain of questions that have come his way since.
It's the attackers but it's also the attacks. At first it was a thing of like, listen if I tell the truth then that's it cause it's the truth.
Then it became a thing of like, "Oh, how can you doubt that? How can you not believe that.
'And then it became a thing of like, "Oh. It's not necessarily that you don't believe that this is the truth, you don't even want to see the truth,' he said.
It is the first time the 36-year-old himself will answer questions on camera about the incident which shocked the nation and has brought an avalanche of both sympathy and scrutiny Smollett's way.
In the initial aftermath of the attack, Smollett received an outpouring of support from celebrities and fans alike who all condemned the discrimination he was subjected to. But in the weeks since, details of the incident have been picked over forensically.
Some of his neighbors have expressed skepticism that it happened the way he said it did and the lack of evidence has done nothing to quell their cynicism.
Despite finding video of Smollett before and after the attack, police have not been able to uncover any surveillance footage of the actual incident and they have not been able to identify the suspects.
They released an initial image of two men walking near Smollett on the night of the incident at around the same time but that led to nothing.
They have also pointed out repeatedly that Smollett did not immediately turn over his phone records or his phone to prove that he was on a call with his manager, Brandon Z. Moore, when the attack took place as claimed.
It carries special significance because Moore claims to have heard the attackers calling Smollett 'Empire f****t n****r' and shouting: 'This is MAGA country!'.
Within the first few days of the attack, he gave an interview to Variety saying he had heard the slurs but he has not spoken about it since. On Monday, Smollett finally did hand over his records but they were redacted.
Chicago Police Department described them as 'insufficient proof' of the call.
The actor angrily responded that via a representative that he was never told as much and that they were redacted to protect 'personal contacts or high-profile individuals not relevant to the attack.
In a statement to DailyMail. com on Tuesday night, a spokesman for the actor said: 'Jussie is the victim here, which has been stated by the Superintendent of Police.
'Jussie has voluntarily provided his phone records from within an hour of the attack and given multiple statements to police. Chicago PD has repeatedly informed us that they find Jussie's account of what happened that night consistent and credible.
Superintendent Johnson has been clear from day one that Jussie is a victim. 'We are continuing to work closely with the Chicago PD and remain confident that they will find Jussie's attackers and bring them to justice.
'Any redacted information was intended to protect the privacy of personal contacts or high-profile individuals not relevant to the attack. 'Chicago Police have not told us that they are rejecting any records, nor have they expressed concerns about the records to us.
'Therefore, we don't feel compelled to be bated (sic) into responding to uncorroborated press reports. 'We are dealing directly with the Chicago Police Department.