Jussie Smollett's elimination from Special Forces due to a medical emergency left everyone shocked - including him. Us Weekly caught up with Jussie, 43, on Monday, October 13, shortly after the newest episode of the Fox series revealed he developed a cough that caused him to be eliminated from the show out of concern for his health. Jussie told Us that he had mixed feelings about having his experience cut short. Take me through your mindset before you left. Did you think you would make it to the end before the health scare? I really wanted to and I had planned on it. I feel like I started off strong and then I messed up and embarrassed myself [during the underwater challenge]. I'm so embarrassed because I just couldn't open my eyes under that water. Who Failed Selection on Season 4 of 'Special Forces'? Was that the worst part of the defeat for you? PETE DADDS / FOX. I got cocky because I knew I could hold my breath. I was concentrating on what I could do and I wasn't concentrating on the other things that I possibly could not do. I was not thinking about the opening of the eyes in that disgusting green water. It's already difficult for me to open up my eyes in bath water and it's difficult for me to open up my eyes under the shower. I get a little bit of shampoo in my eyes and I want to cry. This is not joyous to me so when I have to open up my eyes, I'm thinking to myself, "Well. if this was a real situation, wouldn't we have goggles?" Probably. That makes sense. I had been practicing holding my breath. I can hold my breath for, like, 124 seconds, but I couldn't get the right door. [The second time around] I knew what the issue was and so I choreographed it in my head. It was so ridiculous. But I didn't feel as bad for losing myself, I felt more horrible that two people lost because of me and then they were punished for it. Every time I see them, I'm just like, "I'm so sorry, I'm very sorry." I really do feel bad about that. And then came the interrogation with the Directing Staff (DS). After I got through the interrogation, I was like, "OK the hardest part is over." So I wanted to keep on going. I was telling myself every day, "You'll quit tomorrow." Then tomorrow comes and I think I will quit tomorrow. But then you'll never quit. When did you realize you were starting to get sick? There was a slight cough that was developing. Then I went to sleep and something came over me. I could not breathe during the last challenge. I didn't want to say anything. But then when I wake up, I cannot control myself and I know that it is just a matter of time. This is the only window that the doctor just so happens to be there. I thought he would probably just give me something. Then he told me I had a lung infection. So he put me on steroids for five days and I left and had an amazing meal at a beautiful bed and breakfast. That is where my journey on Special Forces ended. All of it seemed too hard to put up with - starting with being shoved in mud minutes into the premiere. Pete Dadds/ FOX And they had the audacity to tell us to come as we are. We were told to wear the clothes that you would wear. They said, "This is your last chance to show who you are." I went in there looking fly [and some like Eva Marcille were wearing] Chanel or something fancy. They put us in the mud and it took me a second because when I first went down, I smelled it a little bit before I put my face in it. I had to make sure that it didn't smell like you know what and it really didn't smell like mud. But real people do this. Real troops have to do this when they are training and they don't have time to be like, "Oh my God, it's gonna be so bad for my pores." This must have made you support the troops more. I always say, "Screw war but I love the troops." We were on a TV show and it was as difficult as humanly possible for a TV show. But I don't want to take away from the fact that there really are people that truly do this and can't tap out. I just show so much love and appreciation for our troops all over the world. Everything to Know So Far About 'Special Forces' Season 4 You had some awkward moments on the show with people like Kody Brown. What was it like in real life? Pete Dadds/ FOX All jokes aside, he didn't know me then. I didn't know about his show. The night before I was googling people. But I didn't experience that from him. Any thought [he may have had about me] - if he had thoughts about me or certain thoughts or a narrative that he had in his head - I respect the man because he didn't let me know that. People are entitled to their own thoughts. I got my own thoughts so why wouldn't I expect someone to have theirs? We're all grown here. We're all we've all been through things. So at the end of the day, I take that all in stride. I don't think that he was trying to set any sort of narrative. People don't realize that the interview parts are done way before, like three days before we start the tasks. I don't take those things personall