Taraji P. Henson Told Jussie Smollett to 'Walk in His Truth' After Apparent Hate Crime

Taraji P. Henson is sharing the words of encouragement she gave Jussie Smollett after he was targeted in an apparent hate crime last week.

The actress, who stars as Smollett’s mother on the Fox series Empire, gave an update on Smollett while appearing on the Today show Monday morning.

“Life is spiritual warfare and we’re seeing it right before our very eyes. You just have to stay close to what you know,” she said. “Jussie is love, that’s who he is. That’s all he knows. In this situation, hate won’t win. It will not.”

Henson said she told Smollett to make sure he doesn’t forget who he is as he heals.

“I just told him to walk in his truth. To just stay the Jussie that everybody loves,” she said. “You saw the outpour of love that he has. He’s touched a lot of people in his career. I just told him, ‘Walk in your truth, baby, no one can take that from you.’ ”

Smollett made his first public appearance since the attack on Saturday, performing at the Troubadour in Los Angeles. He addressed the terrifying incident.

“There are so many words on my heart that I want to say,” the 35-year-old said, visibly emotional. “The most important that I can say, to keep it simple, thank you so much. I’m okay … I’m not fully healed yet, but I’m going to. I’m going to stand strong with y’all.”

“I had to be here tonight,” he added. “I couldn’t let those motherf—ers win. So I will always stand for love, I will never stand for anything other than that. Regardless of what anyone else says, I will only stand for love. I hope that you all stand with me.”

He also clarified reports about the apparent hate crime.

“Just because there has been a lot of stuff that has been said about me that is absolutely not true,” he said. “There are just a couple of points that I wanted to make really quick… I was bruised, but my ribs were not cracked. I went to the doctor immediately — I was not hospitalized. Both my doctors in L.A. and Chicago cleared me to perform but said to take it easy, obviously. And, above all, I fought the f— back.”

At around 2 a.m. in Chicago on Tuesday, Smollett transported himself to a doctor after he was the victim of an apparent hate crime.

The Chicago Police Department previously confirmed in a statement that a member of the hit Fox show was involved in a “racially-charged assault and battery.”

“Two unknown offenders approached him and gained his attention by yelling out racial and homophobic slurs towards him,” continued the statement. “The offenders began to batter the victim with their hands about the face and poured an unknown chemical substance on the victim. At some point during the incident, one of the offenders wrapped a rope around the victim’s neck. The offenders fled the scene.”

On Thursday, Smollett’s family released a statement about the attack.

“We want to be clear, this was a racial and homophobic hate crime. Jussie has told the police everything from the very beginning. His story has never changed, and we are hopeful they will find these men and bring them to justice,” they said. “Our family thanks everyone for their prayers and the huge amount of love he has received. We are thankful to our village for your immense support during this trying time. We are so grateful that God saw him through this cowardly attack alive. Jussie is a warrior whose light cannot be dimmed.”

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