This highly appropriate comment was posted anonymously after Jussie Smollett was sentenced to jail time- pretty much sums the situation up:
Ladies and Gentlemen, this is what greed gets you. He wasn’t FAMOUS ENOUGH. He wanted more. And well, he sort of got it. Just not in the way he wanted. It’s almost like a “Twilight Zone” or “Black Mirror” episode if you really think about it.
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Back in January, 2019, we all heard that openly gay Empire actor Jussie Smollett said he was attacked at 2 AM by two masked men yelling out racial and homophobic slurs in Chicago. (Being from Chicago we were horrified) Bleeding, he staggered home with a noose around his neck and “a friend” called police because Jussie says “I am a Black man in America and I do not trust police.” Gradually the story started to unravel- the two “attackers” turned out to be Nigerian brothers who claimed Jussie paid them $3500 to stage the event because he felt the attention might get him a raise. When the egotistical actor was charged with 6 counts of felony misconduct, the brothers testified against him. To no one’s surprise, Jussie was found guilty and will be sentenced March 10. Meanwhile, gay publications criticized him and Hollywood was equally turned off. That wasn’t enough. Three years later Jussie has filed an appeal for a new trial- he claims his rights were violated (some technicality) during the trial. He will most likely get only probation and community service, but Jussie wants to drag this out even longer, hoping to be vindicated. Sorry Jussie, but we will never believe you.
Photo Credit: BACKGRID-USA- Jussie Smollett at Harry Belafonte birthday celebration NYC
Can’t help but wonder what actress Jurnee Smollett (Lovecraft County) is really thinking about her brother Jussie Smollett’s Chicago trial, which has finally begun. Does she pretend to be supportive of his claim that he was a hate crime victim? Former Empire star Jussie still insists that two men attacked him in Chicago yelling “This is MAGA country!” – they beat him up and hung a “lynching” rope around his neck. Coming from Chicago, we were horrified at these charges. Police investigated and not long after, two Nigerian brothers confessed that Jussie HIRED them to fake the attack to get attention from his Empire producers. At worst, Jussie can be convicted of 6 counts of filing false police reports. But will his career ever recover? We could live without ever seeing his smirking face again…
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We were incredibly disappointed when charges against Jussie Smollett were dropped in 2019. Remember, the Empire actor claimed two racist and homophobic white men viciously attacked him in Chicago (one was wearing a MAGA hat, no less) – his story was too absurd to believe. Turns out, he paid two guys who worked on Empire $3500 each to fake the attack. (He thought the publicity would enhance he’s career) But the guys confessed, and we were relieved that Chicago wasn’t as evil as Jussie made it seem. When charges against Jussie were dismissed, we chalked it up to corrupt politicians. But SOMEBODY came to their senses, and he was recharged with felony misconduct for the scam. Covid got in the way, but now he’s back in court and we hope he gets what he deserves.
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Frankly, we never got over the fact that charges against Jussie Smollett were DROPPED after he orchestrated that fake hate crime in Chicago. His claims of a racist and homophobic attack by two white guys (one wearing a MAGA hat, no less) were honestly too absurd to believe. And when the two guys were found and claimed to be hired by the Empire actor to fake the crime against him, we were happy that our hometown Chicago is NOT that evil. Tons of evidence popped up to prove Jussie lied. When he was mysteriously set free, we chalked it up to corrupt politicians. What a nice surprise – angry Chicagoans are finally vindicated with these new charges against Jussie – we can’t wait to hear the whole story in court.
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We will not soon forget the smug look on Jussie Smollett’s face when all that evidence was piling up that he had filed a fake police report about a hate crime against him. At first, we felt sorry for him – he’s such a sweet looking guy and we thought he might have mental problems. Obviously, what he has are EGO problems. He DID get a ton of publicity, but in the end, it was not sympathetic. The fact that he won’t be prosecuted was a shock at first – but in reality his only crime was fooling the Chicago police and wasting their time. He hired expensive lawyers to “influence” the right people and it probably cost him a LOT of money. It’s the idea that he thinks he got away with this and seems to enjoy the idea of being a hate crime victim that GRATES on our nerves…
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Dr Drew summed up the whole unfortunate and dismal Jussie Smollett situation with one word. The celebrity doctor pointed out that Jussie has not been admitted to a mental hospital or rehab (defense lawyers encourage that in hopes of a less harsh sentence) therefore Dr Drew asserts that’s it’s not a mental health situation – it’s a CHARACTER issue. Which is worse, of course, because it means Jussie is a manipulative and self-serving person – wholly unsympathetic. On the upside, this situation has taught all of us not to jump to conclusions. Funny, we just heard is that Jussie is suddenly claiming he has an untreated drug problem… Dr Drew was right on target.
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