I've used and edited some sections of the Wikipedia article on this case.

On January 29, 2019, Smollett alleged that he was attacked in the 300 block of East Lower North Water Street in Chicago's Streeterville neighborhood.

Police initially investigated this as a hate crime. Smollett took officers to the spot where he was attacked and told investigators he’d received hate mail a week earlier.

However after investigation police sources have now suggested that Smollett orchestrated the attack and he is being investigated.

Smollett told police that two men dressed in black got his attention by mentioning the name of the TV show. Smollett said the more aggressive man wore a black mask to conceal his face.

Smollett, who is black and openly gay, said the men then shouted slurs, beat him in the face with their hands and poured an unknown substance on him that stained his clothes. He said the men tied a rope around his neck before running away.

Smollett told police that he was attacked outside his apartment building by two white men in ski masks who made racial and homophobic slurs, and said 'This is MAGA country' Smollett said that he fought them off. Smollett was admitted to Northwestern Memorial Hospital and as he was not seriously injured, he was released 'in good condition' later that morning the police were called after 2:30 AM; when they arrived around 2:40 AM, Smollett had a white rope around his neck.

On January 30, before Smollett's story was called into question by the police, some public figures expressed support for Smollett on social media. Entertainment industry figures, including Shonda Rhimes and Viola Davis, tweeted their outrage and support. Democratic senators and presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Cory Booker both described the attack as a modern-day lynching, with Booker urging Congress to pass the federal Anti-Lynching Bill he and Harris have co-sponsored.

Smollett faced skepticism regarding his claim of being attacked; he responded to this skepticism by saying that he believed that, if he had said his attackers were Mexicans, Muslims or black people, 'the doubters would have supported me much more... And that says a lot about the place that we are in our country right now.'

On February 13, Chicago Police raided the home of two 'persons of interest' in the case. The men are brothers, of Nigerian descent, who have acted as extras on Empire.

Police recovered bleach and other items from the home. The brothers were held in police custody on suspicion of battery but were not charged. According to the brothers' attorney, they know Smollett from working on the show, and have also spent time with him at a gym. The two Nigerian men were released February 15 without being charged with a crime, with Chicago Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi stating their release was 'due to new evidence' from the interrogations.

Chicago police later told ABC News: 'Police are investigating whether the two individuals committed the attack—or whether the attack happened at all.'

On February 16, two unnamed Chicago police sources informed CNN that Chicago police had discovered evidence indicating that Smollett had paid the two Nigerian brothers ,500 to stage the attack.

Financial records indicate that the brothers purchased the rope found around Smollett's neck at Crafty Beaver Hardware Store in Ravenswood over the weekend of January 25.

Smollett refused to give over his phone to Police when initially asked and when he did days later it was noted that he had deleted several calls. However Police simply went and accessed the phone records where it is alleged that the calls deleted were to the Nigerians who attacked him.

Chicago police have reached out to Smollett's attorney regarding additional questioning. Smollett has hired crisis manager Chris b******i to represent him. Upcoming episodes of Empire have been rewritten to reduce Smollett’s role both in dramatic and musical performances.

Edited by Stirlingsays (20 Feb 2019 3.19pm)

'Who are you and how did you get in here? I'm a locksmith. And, I'm a locksmith.' (Leslie Nielsen)

He's the 'gay Tupac'.

[Link]

'Who are you and how did you get in here? I'm a locksmith. And, I'm a locksmith.' (Leslie Nielsen)

Ah well.

Consider it a fitting mistake in a story about fake news.

Yet another fake 'hate crime'.....which is becoming increasingly popular because Democrats celebrate 'victimhood'.

'Who are you and how did you get in here? I'm a locksmith. And, I'm a locksmith.' (Leslie Nielsen)

This is a classic example of how the left causes racism and division in our society.

A leftist Hollywood actor concocts a story that he was attacked for being black and gay with so many holes it's embarrassing.

The leftist media LAP IT UP because it fits with their narrative that the US is a deeply racist country, that's full of nazis, full of white supremacist Trump voters, and it's got even worse with him as president. Wrong.

This is how the fake news BBC have reported the whole bulls*** story as fact – despite incredibly sketchy/no evidence to corroborate his claims. You read the headlines and believe it's true, right? [Link]

We'll see if the BBC and Sky News write an amended story on how it was all a hoax and if it makes the home page!

Meanwhile, the Democrats have deleted their tweets of outrage on this so called 'racist' incident.

It also underlines how much 'hate crime' is often actually fabricated.

Let's hope this Smollett gets dropped by his employers and convicted for wasting police time. And forever be known as a racist.

Edited by Penge Eagle (20 Feb 2019 3.56pm)

The BBC ran the story even though he is a complete unknown in the UK! But they'd do anything to stoke the fires of racism to fit with their cultural Marxist editorial line. You could just imagine the excitement in the BBC newsroom when they saw this come through on CNN.

Don't worry as of now (16.25pm) the story is not showing on the news page nor under the entertainment and & arts section or the USA news section. So I guess they agree with you Penge nothing to see here please move on.

One more point