Jussie Smollett Addresses Those Who Think He's Lying About His Attack

Jussie Smollett has sat down for an extensive interview with Good Morning America‘s Robin Roberts to speak about the night of his alleged violent hate crime attack.

“I have to acknowledge the lies, and the hate,” Jussie said during his interview. “And it feels like if I had said it was a Muslim, or a Mexican, or someone black, I feel like the doubters would have supported me much more. A lot more. And that says a lot about the place that we are in our country right now.”

About if he’s lying, Jussie said, “that’s ridiculous.”

“I’ve heard that it was a date gone bad, which I also resent that narrative,” he said. “I’m not gonna go out and get a tuna sandwich and a salad to meet somebody. That’s ridiculous. And it’s offensive.”

About his reluctance to hand his phone over to police, Jussie said, “They wanted me to give my phone to the tech for three to four hours. I’m sorry but — I’m not gonna do that. Because I have private pictures and videos and numbers: my partner’s number, my family’s number, my castmate’s number, my friends’ numbers, my private emails, my private songs, my private voice memos.”

“I don’t know what that’s gonna be, to hand over my phone for — and honestly, by then, inaccurate, false statements had already been put out there,” Jussie added.

This is only part of the interview. More will add later on GMA.