Jussie Smollett attack is also an assault on his groundbreaking Empire role

Variety

"The actor has yet to speak publicly about the incident," says Daniel D'Addario. "But the violence directed at him seems intended as an attack on the work he’s done and on who he is — that same bold, intersectional, unashamed self that Empire lifts up and celebrates. That Smollett will have behind him, as he heals, a vast community of support from different corners of America is a tribute to the performer he is — ever unapologetically himself — and the ways in which he’s sought to show viewers exactly what the black gay experience is like. And that he’s been the victim of a hate crime, one that seems to have been committed by people who knew and deplored his work, is a sign of just how necessary it is that the entertainment industry make room for even more Jussie Smolletts — more queer artists of color given places in the mainstream so that they can speak clearly, passionately, and with unfakeable humanity about their own experiences, to fight hatred with excellence." ALSO: Smollett's Empire parents Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson express their support for their TV son.