US actor Jussie Smollett staged a fake attack on himself because he was “dissatisfied with his salary”, Chicago police say.
Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said in a news conference that he “took advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career”.
Mr Smollett is charged with filing a false police report after he said he was the victim of a homophobic attack.
Police say he also had sent a racist letter to himself at a Fox studio.
On Thursday, Mr Smollett appeared in court, where a judge set his bail at $100,000 (£76,000), requiring the actor to submit a bond of $10,000 and surrender his passport.
The 36-year-old star of the TV series Empire is suspected of paying two brothers to stage the attack. They are both co-operating with the investigation, police say.
On Wednesday his lawyers said they would “mount an aggressive defence”.