CHICAGO, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- U.S. hip-hop drama Empire actor Jussie Smollett staged a hate crime attack on himself as he was unhappy with his salary, Chicago's police chief said on Thursday.
Smollett surrendered to Chicago police on Thursday morning after local prosecutors approved a felony charge of disorderly conduct for allegedly making a false police report.
Smollett, 36, an African American and open gay actor, is accused of paying two brothers he knew 3,500 U.S. dollars to stage an attack on him in downtown Chicago on the early morning of Jan. 29.
Chicago police superintendent Eddie Johnson told a press conference that Smollett set up such a seemingly racist and homophobic attack for a "publicity stunt" aimed at promoting his career.
"When we discovered the actual motive," said Johnson, "quite frankly, it pissed everybody off."
Police added that before the fake attack, Smollett also sent a threatening letter to a Chicago studio where he has worked for the TV drama in an attempt to strengthen his case.
Upon the attack report, Chicago police first treated the high profile case as a possible hate crime. However, as investigation deepened, police found that the actor orchestrated the attack because he was dissatisfied with his salary on the Empire.
But Smollett's attorneys released a statement on Wednesday, saying "like any other citizen, Mr. Smollett enjoys the presumption of innocence, particularly when there has been an investigation like this one where information, both true and false, has been repeatedly leaked."
"Given these circumstances, we intend to conduct a thorough investigation and to mount an aggressive defense," said the statement.
