President Donald Trump slammed Jussie Smollett on Thursday after the Empire star was arrested on charges that he falsified a police report.
“@JussieSmollett – what about MAGA and the tens of millions of people you insulted with your racist and dangerous comments!? #MAGA,” Trump tweeted in reference to his “Make America Great Again” slogan, which is believed to be linked to racists.
Last month, Smollett, who is Black and openly gay, told police that he was attacked by two men in Chicago who tied a noose around his neck and yelled homophobic and racist slurs including “this is MAGA country.”
The Chicago Police Department said the actor may have staged the attack along with the threatening letters sent to Fox studios because he was “dissatisfied” with his salary on the Lee Daniels-directed series.
Tyler Perry also commented on the alleged hoax and his relationship with Smollett.
“How I wish that the disappearance of Terrance Williams and Felipe Santos could get half as much attention as this Jussie Smollett thing,” Perry wrote on Instagram about the lack of coverage for the two men who went missing after being arrested in Florida in 2003 and 2004, respectively.
“I have personally spoken to Jussie, and he is adamant that he’s telling the truth,” Perry said. “Also, everyone that I know who knows him says that he is not the kind of person who would make up such a horrible and awful thing. Yet the evidence seems to state otherwise. I’m lost for words. To stoke fears and raise racial tensions is wrong in every situation on ALL SIDES! Yet my prayers are still with him and his family and our Nation. CAN WE PLEASE STOP THE HATE!”
Smollett could be facing up to three years in prison and substantial fines.
Click through the gallery to see what other prominent figures had to say about the arrest.
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