Jussie Smollett Says He Can ID the Racist, Homophobic Attackers - TMZ

Jussie Smollett Those Are the 2 Guys Who Attacked Me ... I'm Positive

2/14/2019 6:08 AM PST

Jussie Smollett says he's certain ... the 2 men in the surveillance photo released by police are way more than persons of interest ... they are the men who screamed homophobic and racist epithets at him, tied a noose around his neck, poured bleach on him and beat him.

Jussie appeared on 'GMA' Thursday, and was clearly frustrated some people don't believe his story.

The 2 men in the surveillance photo are considered "persons of interest" but not suspects by the Chicago PD. Cops tell us the video shows the 2 men on the other side of the street from Jussie, but there is a 60-second gap in the video.

Jussie went on to explain why he refused to give his phone to cops so they could validate his story that he was talking to his manager at the time of the attack and the manager heard it go down. Jussie explained he had various private photos, videos and phone numbers and did not want that data compromised.

He tells Robin Roberts about his injuries and why he kept the rope around his neck until police arrived.