Tracy Morgan has doubts about whether Empire star Jussie Smollett was attacked.
During an appearance Monday on the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the comedian criticized Smollett for filing a police report saying he was the victim of a hate crime in Chicago on Jan. 29.
Morgan, who sat down with Fallon to promote Season 2 of The Last O.G., joined critics who believe Smollett fabricated the story for personal gain. The comedian joked that he was approached about joining Empire after promising not to “fake a hate crime.”
“Yeah, they gave me a role on Empire,” he quipped. “Contractually, they gave me millions of dollars. Contractually, all I gotta do is not fake a hate crime.”
When Fallon pressed Morgan on whether he believes Smollett’s story, he replied, “Nah man! First of all, racist people don’t be jumping nobody in the polar vortex. It’s too cold. You be racist in the spring.”
The 30 Rock alum also joked that “racists don’t be watching Empire,” and he poked fun at Smollett’s claim that he was on a late-night Subway run when the alleged attack occurred. “He didn’t let that Subway sandwich go!” Morgan quipped.
The comedian continued to criticize Smollett on the Today show Tuesday morning, arguing that “people could get hurt” due to the actor’s supposed actions.
“How are Chicago police going to respond to those types of calls anymore?” he reasoned.
As for fellow comic Chris Rock’s controversial bit about Smollett at the NAACP Image Awards Saturday night, Morgan argued “nobody’s above a joke.”
Smollett told Chicago police officers he was beaten, doused with a chemical, and had a rope placed around his neck in the early morning hours of Jan. 29.
The actor and singer, who is African-American and openly gay, said the perpetrators yelled racial and homophobic slurs, and said “this is MAGA country.”
The case took a turn after detectives grew skeptical of the actor’s account. They questioned two men who are potentially connected to the case. The men — identified by Chicago media outlets as Nigerian siblings Obabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo — were arrested at Chicago O’Hare International Airport after returning from Nigeria.
Officers searched the pair’s home and reportedly collected evidence including shoes, bleach and electronic devices.
“We can confirm that the information received from the individuals questioned by police earlier in the ‘Empire’ case has in fact shifted the trajectory of the investigation,” Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement to Urban Hollywood 411. “We’ve reached out to the ‘Empire’ cast member’s attorney to request a follow-up interview.”
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