Surrounded by love. Taraji P. Henson showed support for her Empire costar Jussie Smollett one day after he was attacked in an apparent hate crime in Chicago.
“I wish what happened to my baby was just one big bad joke but it wasn’t and we all feel his pain right now,” Henson, 48, wrote on Instagram on Wednesday, January 30. “@jussiesmollett is pure love to the bone AND THAT IS WHY SO MANY ARE FEELING HIS PAIN BECAUSE IT IS OUR PAIN!!! I tell you one thing HATE WILL NOT WIN!!!! My baby is resilient and love still lives in him. The devil and his minions are very busy right now but one thing is for sure and two things are for certain #GODIS and that is all I know.”
Alongside a video of Smollett, 36, singing, the actress added, “This song needs to be downloaded until it goes triple platinum because the message is NEEDED. #weareresilientpeople AND #weaintgoingnowhereuntillwearefinished. The love so many have him just goes to show HE IS LOVE!!!! I LOVE YOU MY BABY MY BABY!!! #LOVEWINSALWAYS.”
The actor-singer — who plays Jamal Lyon, the son of Henson’s character, Loretha “Cookie” Lyon, on the Fox musical drama — transported himself to the hospital in the early hours of Tuesday, January 29, after two men yelled racial and homophobic slurs toward him, attacked him, poured an unknown chemical substance on him and wrapped a rope around his neck. The Chicago Police Department confirmed to Us Weekly that detectives are investigating the incident as a “possible hate crime.” Smollett, who came out as gay in 2015, has since been released from the hospital and is listed in “good condition.”
Countless celebrities took to social media after the news broke to send their love to Smollett. Empire cast member Terrence Howard, who plays Cookie’s husband and Jamal’s father, Lucious Lyon, also spoke out during an appearance on Good Morning America on Wednesday, saying, “Jussie’s anger will dissipate and he will forgive these people for what they did. But he won’t — and we cannot — forget their actions. They have to be forgiven because it was done out of ignorance.”
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