'Empire' Star Jussie Smollett Reveals He Was Pressured Not to Speak Out on #BlackLivesMatter

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Thanks to the success of Empire, it’s safe to
say actor Jussie Smollett is enjoying a meteoric rise in the spotlight. But all
the extra attention has led to a few awkward moments in his budding career,
including coming out in the green room on The Ellen
DeGeneres Show
.

“I was, like, two months deep into this fame thing,” Smollett
tells ETonline Editor in Chief Shana Krochmal in an interview for Out magazine,
adding: “I was ready to talk about it, [but] she told me, ‘You don’t have to.’
I will be forever grateful to Ellen for the kindness she showed me. And that
made me want to talk about it.”

WATCH: 'Empire' Star Jussie Smollett Comes Out

Ultimately, the actor revealed to DeGeneres that “there’s
never been a closet that [he’s] been in.” “It was a much bigger deal for other
people than it was for me,” Smollett says of the moment, which was largely
celebrated by the LGBT community.

“I am a gay man with an extremely open heart,” he now tells Out.
“God, I’ve never had to talk about this, so I’m trying to find the words. If I
had to label myself, I would label myself as a gay man.”

Out Magazine

While he may have stumbled out of the closet, the actor was
confident enough with his fame to speak up for the Black Lives Matter movement.
However, he says some in the industry around him weren’t so keen on him taking
a stance.

MORE: Jussie Smollett Debuts His Own Music on 'Empire': 'These Are My Stories'

“I was told by two executives, ‘You know, maybe just wait,’”
Smollett says, revealing that he was planning to participate in the March 2
Justice event in Washington, D.C. Ultimately, he paid his own way to the event,
marching the last six miles from Howard University to the U.S. Capitol. “People
were telling me, ‘Don’t do it.’ But I felt like, If I lose my career based on this, then I don’t need that career.”

“You mean to tell me just because I make movies and TV and music that I can’t talk about what’s going on in the world I live in?” Smollett asks, unconcerned about the FOX series’ ratings or the success of his own music.

MORE: Jussie Smollett Praises Lee Daniels: 'He's Made Me More of a Truthful Man'

And Smollett was not alone in his conviction. Empire creator and director Lee Daniels tells Out: “Many people don’t like that I’m blunt about it. I get in trouble a lot, but I don’t care.”

That mentality seems to have rubbed off on the young star. “At some point, I was going to say what I believe anyway,” Smollett adds.

Watch the actor's moving speech during the 2015 BET Awards when he stopped mid-performance to speak out on marriage equality and the Black Lives Matter movement: