"Empire" star Jussie Smollett was hospitalized in Chicago after being attacked and beaten in what is thought to be a hate crime.

The actor, 35, came out as gay in 2015 during an interview with Ellen DeGeneres.
ThatGrapeJuice.Net, who broke the story, reported that the attack was premeditated. The Chicago Police Department is investigating the incident as a battery, TMZ reported.
The report says two men wearing ski masks beat him and placed a noose around Jussie's neck during the attack. During the incident, the men apparently shouted, "This is MAGA country" and poured bleach on him, TMZ said on Tuesday morning, noting that the incident occurred around 2 AM as Jussie left a Subway sandwich shop.
The attack came eight days after the actor received a disturbing racist and homophobic letter in the mail.

ThatGrapeJuice.Net showed a photo of the letter that featured cutout letters from a magazine. It also shared an image from the actual letter what shows the author clearly trying to manipulate and disguise their handwriting. The return address simply said "MAGA."
Jussie, who films "Empire" in Chicago, was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital after the attack, but he's already been released. According to reports, Jussie fought back against his attackers, but suffered a fractured rib.