Actor Jussie Smollett

Prosecutors in Cook County, Ill., dropped charges against Jussie Smollett on Tuesday, citing community service performed by the actor since his arrest and his agreement to forfeit his bond to the city of Chicago.

Prosecutors say Jussie Smollett paid two men, including a close friend who worked alongside him on the Fox drama "Empire," to help him stage a fake attack he later framed as a racist and homophobic hate crime.

A black US TV actor staged an attack against him which exploited the "pain" of racism in a publicity stunt which sullied the reputation of America's third-largest city, police alleged Thursday.

Black, openly-gay actor Jussie Smollett of the US television program "Empire" was hospitalized Tuesday in Chicago following a possibly hate-motivated attack in which assailants tied a rope around his neck, police and his co-workers said.

Prosecutors in Cook County, Ill., dropped charges against Jussie Smollett on Tuesday, citing community service performed by the actor since his arrest and his agreement to forfeit his bond to the city of Chicago.

Prosecutors say Jussie Smollett paid two men, including a close friend who worked alongside him on the Fox drama "Empire," to help him stage a fake attack he later framed as a racist and homophobic hate crime.

A black US TV actor staged an attack against him which exploited the "pain" of racism in a publicity stunt which sullied the reputation of America's third-largest city, police alleged Thursday.

Black, openly-gay actor Jussie Smollett of the US television program "Empire" was hospitalized Tuesday in Chicago following a possibly hate-motivated attack in which assailants tied a rope around his neck, police and his co-workers said.