Jussie Smollett took the stage at a previously scheduled show in Los Angeles last night, his first public appearance since the racist and homophobic attack on him in Chicago last week.
Smollett corrected a few details of the attack at his performance. He told his audience that he was bruised but had no broken ribs, and that he went to the doctor but was not hospitalized.
He had previously clarified an incident where the cops said he refused to hand over phone records to prove he was on the phone with his manager at the time of the attack — he actually had simply refused to hand over his actual phone.
The Empire actor, who also plays a gay character on the show, was attacked outside in the middle of the night by two white men in ski masks who yelled racial and homophobic slurs at him, and reportedly also screamed that “this is MAGA country.” The attackers poured bleach on him and tied a noose around his neck.
“I’m not fully healed yet, but I’m going to, and I’m gonna stand strong with y’all,” Smollett said at the show. “I had to be here tonight, y’all. I couldn’t let those motherfuckers win. So I will always stand for love. I will never stand for anything other than that. Regardless of what anyone else says, I will only stand for love and I hope that you all stand with me.”
“And above all, I fought the fuck back,” he added. “I’m the gay Tupac.”
