Actress Jamie Lee Curtis said embattled Empire star Jussie Smollett “needs mental health help,” after police in Chicago determined that he orchestrated a fake violent hate crime against himself.
Smollett turned himself over to police on Thursday morning to face charges of filing a false police report, after investigators concluded that he had faked a racist and homophobic hate crime against himself in downtown Chicago last month with the help of two men. He was later released on a $100,000 bond.
“It’s so disturbing, that to focus on the negative seems silly,” Jamie Lee Curtis said in an interview with Access. “He needs some mental health help … and I’m going to let courts and some other people decide what will happen.”
Curtis also weighed in on the case via Twitter, describing herself as “appalled” by Smollett’s claim he felt “betrayed” by the law enforcement system.
“HE feels “betrayed”? What about every single victim of a hate crime, every single person of color or LGBTQ who has had violence perpetrated against them? I am appalled,” she wrote. “I hope he gets the obvious mental health help he needs as he gets the attention he so deeply craved.”
Meanwhile, Smollett continues to vehemently deny all claims of wrongdoing, while his lawyers have also pledged to fight any charges against him.
”I’m sorry I’ve put you all through this and not answered any calls. I wanted to say I’m sorry and, you know me, I would never do this to any of you, you are my family,” he reportedly told his Empire co-stars on Thursday. “I swear to God, I did not do this.”
Follow Ben Kew on Facebook, Twitter at @ben_kew, or email him at bkew@breitbart.com.
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