Jussie Smollett FULL Interview on alleged attack | ABC News Exclusive

I'm Robin Roberts in New York. The musician and actor Jesse Smollett sat down with me for his first

interview

since that night in Chicago. Smollett told me how he is now and responds to those who doubt his story. I'm pissed off. What is that? It's got you so angry it's that the

attack

er is the

attack

ers but it's also the attacks it's like you know at first it was a thing like listen if I'm telling the truth then that's it because it's the truth mm-hmm then it became a thing like oh how can you doubt that? To see the truth, what happened that night, Jesse when I landed in Chicago and Frank Gatson, who is like my uncle and is also my creative director, picked me up and then we went back to the apartment, there was no food, so I went out to Walgreens he thought that it was 24 hours and that I wanted to smoke.

Walgreens was closed, so I called him and said, hey, I'm going to run to the subway across the street and get a salad. Want something? I was. I went to the subway and received the order during that time. I texted my manager thinking he was still in Australia because he was on a tour of Australia with one of his other clients. I said, "You know, call me when you can." He called me right away and while he was on the phone I heard as I was crossing the intersection I heard Empire and I don't respond to Empire a name an Empire and I didn't respond I kept walking and then I heard Empire so I turned around and said you? just tell me and I see the masked attacker and he said this country of worms hits me right in the face so I punched him in the butt and then we started fighting you know it was really cold and we ended up running next to the stairs fighting, fighting, fighting there.

There was a second person involved who was kicking me in the back and then he just stopped and they ran off and I saw where they were running and the phone was in my pocket but it had fallen and it was there and my manager was still on the phone so which I picked up the phone and I said Brandon and he likes to go on and I said I just got jumped and then I looked down and I saw there was a rope around my neck that I didn't have. I noticed it before because it was so fast, you know what I'm saying, it was so fast, how long did all this last?

Yeah they like minutes, but it was probably like 30 seconds, I honestly can't tell you honestly. I noticed the rope around my neck. and I started screaming and said there was a rope around my neck, did you get any kind of description of the attack? I gave a description of the body and you know it because I saw this, but and you know it right here or whatever, but I didn't see it. I can't tell you what color his eyes were. I can't tell you and I didn't see anything except the second person I saw running away and the first person I did see saw how tall he was.

I gave the description as best I could. You also have to understand that in Chicago, in the winter, people can wear balaclavas and no one is going to question that the police reviewed many videos and were able to capture an image of two persons of interest. Have you seen that image? Do you think they could possibly be the attackers? What's up with their size or why do you think they might be? Because I was there for me when it was published. I thought okay, we're getting to a place that I don't have any doubt they never did, why did you hesitate to call the police?

You know there's a level of pride, we live in a society where as a gay man you were considered somehow weak and I'm not weak, I'm not weak and we as people are not weak so I can accept that there was pride there, there's also privacy, you know, at the end of the day, look what happened, you know, look what happened. It happened, so no. I'm glad Frank called the police. I'm glad we informed them during that time before they came. It took them about half an hour to arrive and during that time I was looking at myself as if in control. outside I saw the bruise on my neck you know like the little rope burn around my neck and then I said but I smelled bleach I know the smell of bleach and I saw on my sweatshirt that it had marks like stains when you have a bad bleach job so I thought I had bleach on me too, so when the police came I kept my clothes on.

I kept the rope so he would have the rope all night. He wasn't completely wrapped up, but yes, he was around. because I wanted them to see I wanted them to see what this was I told them what everything happened I also asked them to turn off their body cameras because they were trying to stay in the hallway and I said please just come in like no I don't want a big scene with my neighbors and with the second round the police officers. I went down to where it happened and explained exactly what happened and I looked up and saw that there was a camera directly on the light pole. that's at the intersection so I think there's a possible break in the case that would eventually fall apart days later and then the detective told me that the camera inside the case was facing north so they didn't have it and that was disappointing, the vast majority of people had been supportive, loving and understanding and then as time went on and there's nothing, you know it's two in the morning, you go to the Subway sub center that's open 24 hours, like people.

Kill me when they say things like that because it's like Subway is open 24 hours for a reason so when you're hungry at night and you don't have food you go to Subway and the camera is facing north, what does that feel like to be my problem? If I had said I was a Muslim or a Mexican or someone black, I feel like the doubters would have been much more, much more supportive and that says a lot about where we are in our country right now, the fact that They are afraid, the Mongols, these people who are trying to separate us and it's just not right, it's just not right and for all the people, the next time you see someone report something, maybe long after it happened and you tell them well .

Why are you waiting until now? Just remember mine was reported immediately and look what happened, the phone, when did you do it? Because, as she said, it was an accurate account of the timeline, valuable information, when did you make that information available to the police? We had to give the phone records, which originally they didn't ask for my phone records, they asked for my phone, they wanted me to give my phone to the technician for three or four hours. I'm sorry, but I'm not going to do it. That's why, because I have photos, videos and private numbers, my partner's number, my family's number, my co-stars' number, my friends' numbers, my private emails, my private songs, my notes private voice.

I don't know what handing over my phone is for and honestly. By then, you made false statements that had already been spread earlier this week. He presented phone records from an hour after the incident, but Chicago police said they were limited and heavily redacted, adding that they need additional information to cooperate with the investigation timeline their attorneys say. us, are willing to cooperate. Smollett also says he has been concerned about inaccurate claims. What others had I heard that were inaccurate? I had said they were wearing Magga hats. I never said I didn't need to add anything like.

They called me, they called me, there is no way to cut it off. I don't need a worm as the cherry on top of a racist sundae. I heard it was a date gone bad, which makes me so upset about that narrative. I'm not going out for a tuna sandwich and salad to meet someone, that's ridiculous and offensive, yeah there's Grindr, yeah there's Jack, yeah there's all these things I haven't been to in years. I can admit that I was in that back part. Back in the day I was single, you know what I'm saying, but I haven't been into that in years, but other than that, it's offensive and I absolutely resent that narrative because it's bullshit, it's bullshit and it's unfair, it's unfair for the investigation, it is unfair.

I hate this word, but it's unfair to the victim. What was your injury? What are we up to? They took x-rays that I didn't have. It was reported that he had fractured ribs or broken ribs or something like that. It's not true, I was just in a lot of pain, you know, my collarbone was shattered, my rib was bruised, but no, nothing was broken when I went into the hospital, I left the hospital, why do you think you were the target? I can assume that I mean, I come very, very hard against 45. I come very, very hard, okay, the administration of him and I don't bite my tongue.

You don't want to wonder about Jessie. I think that's horrible. It doesn't get worse. As far as I'm concerned, did you know he made that statement? I saw it. I don't know what to say. Know. You know. I appreciate that he didn't ignore it and you have no doubt what motivated this attack. I could only deviate from his words. I mean, who says em pipe? This country of worms ties a rope around your neck and pours bleach on you and this is just a friendly fight. I will never be the man this didn't happen. It hasn't changed forever and I don't subscribe to the idea that everything happens for a reason, but I do subscribe to the idea that we have the right and the responsibility to make something meaningful out of the things that happen to us, good and bad, what do you think?

I feel like people need to hear more of the story. I think what people need to hear is just the truth, it's just the truth because everyone has their own idea, some are healing and some are hurtful, but I just want young people, young members of the LGBTQ community. Little black boys need to know how strong they are, know the power they have in their little pinky. It's been two weeks since that night left actor Jessie Smollett bruised but not broken and he's still processing the raw emotions. Have you ever been threatened before? Yeah. I get threatened all the time on Twitter and Instagram and direct messages and stuff like that, but you know, I'm a public figure.

I'm very frank sometimes, maybe too frank, but that's who I am, so I get the idea of ​​annoying people. In fact, the week before the attack, police confirm that a letter was sent to the Fox studio in Chicago containing threatening language and laced with a powdered substance, likely Tylenol. Do you think there is a link between the letter and the attack? and you mentioned it to the police right away in the letter absolutely only because in the letter there was a stick figure hanging from a tree with a gun pointed at him with the words saying it's small it just said you will die black there was no there's address except the return address and a big red, you know, like taps.

Magga, I made it up too and despite the lack of video surveillance footage, Smollett hopes to rewrite the narrative about that night by saying that he fought off his attackers and reported the incident after his creative director called 9-1. -1. I really want that video to be found because probably for four reasons, number one, I want them to find the people who did it, number two, I want them to stop being able to say the

alleged

attack number three, I love them. to see that I defended myself and I want a gay kid who can see this to see that I defended myself and that doesn't take anything away from people who are not capable of doing that, but I defended myself, they ran away.

I did not do it. What do you tell a young gay man, a young gay man, to learn to fight? And I don't just mean learn to fight, but learn to fight, learn to be a fighter. I'm not advocating violence at all, so let's be clear. that if you are going to die, fight until you do because if you don't fight you have no chance. I have fought for love. I am a defender. I respect people too much that I am now one of those people who have been attacked. Either way you do a disservice when you lie about things like this if the attackers are never found how will you be able to heal?

I don't know, let's just hope they are. You know what I am saying. Let's not go there yet, no, I was just talking to a friend and I told her I just want them to find them and she said honey, they're not going to find them. I was very angry because they were going to leave me here. You're not saying this like I'm left here with something like that so they can go free and move on with their lives and possibly attack someone else and I'm here to leave you with the consequences of that. this book that's not great to me that's not right so I understand how hard it will be to find them but we have to still want to believe with everything that has happened that there is something called justice because if I stop believing that then what is it all for? pinkey chassis thank you thank you