Chicago top cop says Jussie Smollett faked attack because he was 'dissatisfied with his salary'

CHICAGO - Actor Jussie Smollett faked a threatening letter and then, a week later, staged a racist, anti-gay attack in downtown Chicago because he was "dissatisfied with his salary" on the "Empire" television show, Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said Thursday morning.

Smollett paid two brothers he knew $3,500 to fake the attack in downtown Chicago around 2 a.m. Jan. 29, Johnson said, striking him a few times and putting a noose around his neck in front of a camera they erroneously thought caught the act. The superintendent called the scheme "shameful" and wondered how an African-American could set up a racist attack for a "publicity stunt."

"First, Smollett attempted to gain attention by sending a false letter that relied on racial, homophobic and political language," Johnson