Terrence Howard reacts to Jussie Smollett's apparent hate crime, reveals his co-star is 'angry'

Terrence Howard spoke up about his Empire costar Jussie Smollet's apparent hate crime. He claims the star is "angry."

Actor, Terrence Howard is one of the many Empire castmates to open up about the apparent homophobic and racially charged attack on their costar Jussie Smollet. Howard praised Smollett.

The 49-year-old Oscar nominee appeared on Wednesday’s Good Morning America. During the show, he addressed the attack on Smollett for the first time since it happened.

Smollett had been hospitalized the day before Howard's talk show appearance. The young star is recovering from injuries sustained from an apparent hate crime attack.

“I heard he’s getting better. You know, he’s angry,” Howard said. “But I know Jussie. Jussie’s anger will dissipate and he will forgive these people for what they did. But he won’t, and we cannot forget their actions. They have to be forgiven because it was done out of ignorance.”

“Jussie’s the one that starts singing when everybody’s in a bad mood,” Howard continued. “He’s the one that cheers everybody up. He’s the one that does all the Instagrams if he catches you sleeping. Today, no one was caught sleeping. No one even took time to close their eyes and nap. They were all in shock that our family — you know, the Fox family, the Empire family, the Lyon family — were attacked by a bunch of hyenas today.”

Smollett was attacked on Tuesday in Chicago. He was taken to a nearby hospital at around 2 a.m. after he was attacked in an apparent hate crime.

The Chicago Police Department confirmed that a member of the hit Fox show was involved in a “racially-charged assault and battery.” They did not name the cast member.

“A 36-year-old man was walking … when two unknown offenders approached him and gained his attention by yelling out racial and homophobic slurs towards him,” the statement read. “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.”

No arrests have been made however, some reports claim there are some suspect leads the police are following. An officer also revealed that the attackers wore masks however he refrained from confirming what they said.

According to reports, Smollett received threats before. Police confirmed that he had been sent a letter containing threatening language, laced with a powdery substance believed to be Tylenol last week. Reports state that the FBI is now said to be investigating.