Jussie Smollett accused of planning homophobic, racist assault on himself
Chicago police have yet to investigate Smollett a second time and can therefore neither confirm nor deny whether the allegations are true.
By TAMAR URIEL-BEERIBlack Jewish actor Jussie Smollett was assaulted in Chicago on Tuesday night (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Jussie Smollett will be questioned again regarding his claims that he was assaulted and called racial and homophobic slurs. Chicago Police claim they have reason to believe that the black Jewish actor orchestrated the event, according to a New York Times report.The Empire star was reportedly attacked by two masked figures, later said to be brothers Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo. They, however, told investigators they were paid to take part in a hoax.“After we spoke to the former suspects last night, detectives reached out to Jussie Smollett’s attorneys and expressed interest that we need to talk to him again,” said Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesperson for the Chicago Police Department, confirming that the brothers are no longer suspects.One of the brothers, both of whom were detained on Wednesday, was an extra on Smollett’s television show. By Friday evening, both brothers were released without charges.Smollett had previously claimed that he believed the attackers were supporters of US President Donald Trump.The actor’s attorneys released a statement on Saturday night, claiming “Jussie Smollett is angered and devastated by recent reports that the perpetrators are individuals he is familiar with.“He has now been further victimized by claims attributed to these alleged perpetrators that Jussie played a role in his own attack,” the statement continued. “Nothing is further from the truth, and anyone claiming otherwise is lying.”Smollett has already received backlash for the accusations. Donald Trump, Jr. said, “It appears that Jussie Smollett tried to manufacture a hate crime to make Trump supporters look bad, and most of the media not only uncritically accepted his lies as facts for weeks, but attacked those who questioned the validity of his false story.”“The Smollett story isn’t about conservatives pouncing,” wrote political commentator Ben Shapiro. “It’s about an insane hoax propped up and promulgated as ‘Trump’s America’ for political purposes.”Ryan Fournier, a political commentator and the chairman of Students for Trump, said, “This is how mentally insane the Left has become. They will do anything to bring us down. Well it’s not happening, because Jussie is going to jail.”
