Stormy Daniels' attorney Michael Avenatti has apologized for calling the assault on Empire star Jussie Smollett a 'hate crime' after claims surfaced that the actor may have orchestrated his own attack.

The alleged assault, on January 29, saw two men hurl racist and homophobic slurs at the actor as he returned to his Chicago home.

However the narrative took an unexpected turn when Chicago law enforcement sources told CNN that the assault may have been planned by the actor- allegations which Smollett has denied.

Following the revelations of an alleged hoax attack orchestrated by the actor, figures including Democratic presidential candidate Cory Booker and Senator Kamala Harris were asked to respond to earlier messages of support they had offered the star.

American attorney Michael Avenatti has apologized for calling the attack on Jussie Smollett a 'hate crime' after claims surfaced that the attack may have been a hoax

In a tweet the Attorney wrote: 'I am extremely disappointed that J. Smollett staged a hate crime'

Yesterday, in a message posted on Twitter, Mr Avenatti, joined the list of people asked to comment on the alleged attack.

He wrote: 'I am extremely disappointed that J. Smollett staged a hate crime.

'I apologize for my comment made immediately after the news broke. Without firsthand knowledge, I should have known better than to place any faith in the accusations until an investigation was done by me or others.'

Days before the alleged attack on the Empire actor, on January 22, Chicago Police confirmed that a threatening letter containing a powdery substance, later confirmed to be crushed aspirin, had been sent to Cinespace Studios addressed to Smollett.

Actor Jussie Smollett claims that he was attacked by two men on January 29 as he was returning home. He told officers that his attackers hit him, threw racial and homophobic slurs at him and also poured bleach over him

On the letter were the words 'you will die black f*g' and the letters MAGA, which stand for 'Make America Great Again.'

On the day of the alleged attack, January 29, Smollett told police he had been returning to his Chicago residence when two unknown men shouted homophobic and racist slurs at him.

The actor claimed that the attackers went on to hit him, pour bleach over him and also put a noose around his neck.

Cory Booker (left) had previously called the assault a 'modern-day lynching' (tweet pictured right) but when asked to comment on the recent development said he would now wait for further information

Following the attack, two brothers of Nigerian-descent who were known to the actor, were arrested but were subsequently released without charge.

Following the claims, Cory Booker, who called the assault a 'modern-day lynching' was asked to comment on the recent development.

However the Senator told reporters he would no longer comment until 'all the information actually comes out from on-the-record sources.'