“Empire” star Terrence Howard defended Sunday his co-star Jussie Smollett on charges that he faked a hate crime, saying that the man he knows would never do anything “so unconscious and ugly.”
Mr. Howard posted a video on Instagram of a baby identified by Fox News as his son Hero laughing as he was tickled by Mr. Smollett with the caption, “All your lil homies got you … we love the hell outta you.”
When a fan criticized him for defending Mr. Smollett, who has denied staging the attack, Mr. Howard remained emphatic, posting, “Sorry you feel that way but that’s the only Jussie I know.”
“The Jussie I know could never even conceive of something so unconscious and ugly,” said Mr. Howard. “His innocence or judgment is not for any of us to decide. Stay in your lane and my lane is empathy and love and compassion for someone I’ve called my son for five years. It’s God’s job to judge and it’s ours to love and hope, especially for those that we claim to have loved.”
’Empire’ star Terrence Howard breaks silence on Jussie Smollett amid charges young star falsified police report, faked hate crime (via @TooFab)https://t.co/soqZSRgeXH
— TMZ (@TMZ) February 24, 2019
Producers of the Fox show said last week they would write Mr. Smollett’s character out of the show for the final two episodes after the 36-year-old actor was charged Thursday with felony disorderly conduct for allegedly filing a false police report.
The actor said he was beaten Jan. 29 by two men who tied a rope around his neck, sprayed him with bleach, and called him racist and homophobic slurs, shouting, “This is MAGA country,” a reference to President Trump’s Make America Great Again campaign slogan.
Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie T. Johnson said Mr. Smollett staged the attack because he was “dissatisfied with his salary.”
Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez on Sunday defended himself and others in the party, including high-profile presidential candidates Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand and Kamala Harris, who initially rushed to support the actor’s claims. Mr. Perez said Democrats “acted on the facts as we knew at the time.”
Mr. Booker and Ms. Harris both tweeted that Mr. Smollett, who is black and gay, had been the victim of a “modern-day lynching,” while Mr. Perez tweeted, “Let’s call it what it is: A vicious hate crime.”
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders last week called it “another sad example of people so quick to want to attack and come after this president.”
“If the allegations that have come out in recent days are true, it’s unconscionable, because hate crimes the fact of the matter are on the rise,” Mr. Perez said. “When you create a false situation, you are doing an injustice to all the people who’ve been victimized.”
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.