Jussie Smollett arrested for false report of attack

The American actor Jussie Smollett was arrested in Chicago after being accused of filing a false police report.

The star of the Empire had claimed to have been the victim of a homophobic and racist physical attack by two men in January.

A doubt was then put on his account after the US media reported that the police thought he might have paid for two Nigerian brothers to organize the attack.

The actor, aged 36, is under the custody of the Chicago police, spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said.

His lawyers announced on Wednesday that they "would conduct a thorough investigation and constitute an aggressive defense".

On Wednesday, CBS Chicago got footage showing two people buying materials, including ski masks, allegedly worn by the badailants of the actor.

The men – Ola and Abel Osundairo – left the United States after the so-called attack and were arrested when they returned last week. They were later released and cooperated in the investigation.

One of the brothers is Smollett's personal trainer and both worked as extras on Empire.

What did Smollett say?

The actor, who is gay, said he had gone to buy food late at night when two white men threw him racist and homophobic slurs, hit him, poured him out a chemical and put a rope around his neck.

Mr. Smollett then claimed that the men had told him "it's a maga country", apparently referring to President Donald Trump's slogan: "Make America Great Again".

The actor said that he had been "forever changed" by the alleged incident.