Jussie Smollett Accused Of Staging Hate Crime To Prove A Point To Network Execs + Allegedly Paid Man $3,500 To Fake Attack
Jussie Smollett Accused Of Staging Hate Crime To Prove A Point To Network Execs + Allegedly Paid Man $3,500 To Fake Attack
As Jussie Smollett‘s trial is underway, more and more allegations about the actor are coming to light.
Back in early 2019, Empire actor Jussie Smollett memorably came forward and alleged that he was attacked by two men in a Chicago, Illinois hate crime. Two Nigerian brothers named Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo–actors who starred as extras on Empire–were later arrested over the matter, though they claimed the actor paid them to attack him.
Authorities also had separate doubts about Jussie Smollett‘s story, and he soon came under fire and heavy suspicion as many believed he had actually staged the hate crime himself. He was later arrested over the matter, and his long-awaited trial kicked off this past Monday (Nov. 29th).
He’s facing six counts of felony disorderly conduct for allegedly lying to authorities and could be sentenced to 3 years behind bars.
Yesterday (Wednesday, Dec. 1st), one of the aforementioned brothers who was originally a suspect–Abimbola Osundairo–took the stand against Jussie Smollett. Abimbola Osundairo testified:
“He explained that he wanted me to fake beat him up. I agreed to do it because most importantly, I felt indebted to him, to Jussie. He also got me a stand-in role on ‘Empire,’ and I also believed that he could help further my acting career.”
He then explained that Jussie had allegedly received some hate mail that the network wasn’t taking seriously, leading to the supposed plot to stage a hate crime:
“He talked about how the studio was not taking the mail seriously, the hate mail he’d received earlier. I was confused, I looked puzzled and then he explained that he wanted me to fake beat him up [to make the network take it seriously].”
Osundairo continued:
“He wanted me to punch him but he wanted me to pull the punch so I didn’t hurt him and then he wanted me to tussle him and throw him to the ground and give him a bruise. Then he wanted it to look like he was fighting back, so I was supposed to give him a chance to fight back and then eventually throw him to the ground and my brother would tie the noose around his neck and pour bleach on him.”
Osundario also revealed that Smollett had allegedly instructed him and his brother to say things like “This is MAGA country,” “N****r,” and “f****t” to make the ordeal more believable. He then added:
“He said that there was going to be a camera to capture the fake attack, that he wanted a camera to capture the fake attack.”
He also claimed he received $3,500 for his role in the allegedly staged attack.
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