Let me backtrack and say that my previous article on the attack of Jussie Smollett was written in the heat of the moment and with little information on the actual alleged event that took place.
My article was more intended to discuss hatred towards certain communities (LGBTQA+ and Black in this case) and being aware of the fact that people are committing hate crimes because of it. With the limited information that I based my story off of, I said that the alleged attack was a hate crime.
Now with further information, testimonies, and investigations I wanted to write a follow-up article to set the record straight.
If you are still unaware of the new updates to the case, let me catch you up. Two weeks following to initial report, the two men identified as brothers Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo were arrested as being identified as the assailants in the surveillance video. Their home was raided and inside Chicago Police found bleach, magazine clipping, and an "Empire" receipt. It was revealed that the two brothers previously knew Jussie and one of them appeared on the show as an extra and the other was a workout buddy to Jussie. The Osundairo brothers are of Nigerian decent which goes against the original report from Smollett that the attackers were white. The night of the incident the two brothers left to Nigeria for several days and when they returned were arrested in the airport. Two days later they were released. Later on, there was video surveillance released of the brothers buying supplies for the attack.
In addition to finding the alleged attackers, new allegations arose that claim Jussie orchestrated the whole attack, paid the brothers to attack him, leave the country, and then promised to pay them more when they returned. Investigation after investigation there is finally an official charge that has been made, and sadly it is on Jussie Smollett. He has been charged with a Class 4 felony for disorderly conduct for filing a false police report.
In other words, there is more evidence proving that Jussie planned the whole attack rather than it being an organized hate crime. As a person who was hoping for the other outcome, I know how serious it is to one, falsely accuse someone of attacking you, and two, lie about doing so. This breaks so many ethical standards set forth for being a public figure, not to mention one that is black and part of the LGBTQA+ community.
I will be doing another follow-up story as the court cases follow and how the charges will play out. I will also be looking into whether or not the Osundairo brothers will file a defamation case against Smollett since these allegations have given them bad publicity. In the end, the truth will win out. For further information on this story please go to this article by the Chicago ABC News.