Two police sources reportedly told CNN that Jussie Smollett may have paid the two brothers who allegedly attacked him to carry out the assault. 

Following the brothers’ arrest on Wednesday, the police department reportedly discovered “new evidence” that allowed for their release on Friday.

Jussie Smollett told police that on January 29th he was attacked by two unidentified men who put a rope around his neck and poured bleach on his face. 

The alleged attackers were reportedly yelling racial and homophobic slurs while they were assaulting him.

The former suspects Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo who are of Nigerian decent, were released 48 hours after their initial arrest. 

The two brothers are reportedly friends of Smollett’s and have worked with him as extras on his series Empire, in addition to going to the same gym.

In a statement to Deadline, a source close to the investigation said that the focus has now gravitated towards Smollett as the potential orchestrator. 

“The new direction of the investigation is now based on the premise that Mr. Smollett was an active participant in the incident,” they reported.

During an interview on Good Morning America, Smollett addressed the accusations that he had dramatized the details of the alleged attack. 

“It’s not necessarily that you don’t believe that this is the truth, you don’t even want to see the truth.”

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