Empire's Jussie Smollett claimed that he was brutally attacked in Chicago by two masked
men in late January 2019.
The incident was investigated as a possible hate crime, but the story collapsed when it
emerged that the actor might not have been telling the truth.
Here's a look at what's come out about the high-profile incident.
Neighborhood doubts
On February 1st, Jussie Smollett released a statement to ABC News thanking his fans
and supporters for sticking by him in the aftermath of what he claimed was a vicious
hate crime.
Pushing back on claims that he might be fabricating his story, he assured fans that he'd been,
quote, "100% factual and consistent on every level" with law enforcement.
His statement further read,
"Despite my frustrations and deep concern with certain inaccuracies and misrepresentations
that have been spread, I still believe that justice will be served."
But some of the actor's neighbors have been singing a different tune, saying that Smollett's
story of a violent hate crime in the vicinity of their residence just doesn't ring true.
Agin Muhammad, a neighbor who lives in the same high-rise as Smollett, went on record
as having doubts about Smollett's story.
He told the New York Post,
"I don't believe it happened the way he said it did.
I've been in this neighborhood five years.
I don't believe it, not around here.
Half the people are gay and the other half are black."
A tearful interview
On February 14th, 2019, Good Morning America aired an exclusive interview between Jussie
Smollett and host Robin Roberts, during which the actor tearfully defended his version of
events, questioning the motivations of anyone skeptical of his story.
"What do you feel people need to hear the most about this story?"
"I think what people need to hear is just the truth."
Smollett suggested that race played a role in the way his story was received, saying,
"It's not necessarily that you don't believe that this is the truth, you don't even want
to see the truth."
The actor denied reports that he'd said his attackers were wearing Donald Trump's signature
red campaign hats.
As he put it in the interview,
"I don't need some MAGA hat as the cherry on top of some racist sundae."
Despite walking back the red hat detail, Smollett said he believed he was targeted thanks to
his criticisms of the 45th president, giving the alleged hate crime a distinctly political
edge.
While the interview did not press too hard against Smollett's story, it later emerged
that GMA staffers had doubts about whether or not the actor was telling the truth.
It was noted that Smollett reportedly initiated contact with the morning show to set up a
post-attack interview, making a specific request to speak with Robin Roberts - who appeared
on an episode of Empire in 2018.
Roberts has since addressed the interview, reminding audiences that when she first sat
down with Smollett,
"Police officers were saying that his account was consistent, it was credible, and that
he was being cooperative."
But then the story took a dramatic turn.
Tracking down suspects
A day after the reported attack, Chicago police released a blurry surveillance photo of two
men identified as persons of interest in their investigation.
Shortly after Smollett's GMA interview aired, it was announced that the two people in the
footage had been located, and were being questioned by police.
"Do you believe that they could possibly be the attackers?"
"I do."
The two men were identified as brothers Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo - U.S. citizens of
Nigerian descent.
The two were detained at O'Hare Airport after returning from a trip to Nigeria.
A search of their home on the north side of Chicago reportedly yielded a large collection
of evidence related to the attack, including black face masks, red hats, bleach, receipts,
and an Empire script.
The investigation shifts
On the same day that Smollett's GMA interview aired, news broke from multiple sources that
Smollett had not really been attacked, but had actually staged the violent assault himself.
The development was not immediately confirmed by Chicago police, but after investigators
spoke to the Osundairo brothers, it became clear that the investigation was changing
course.
When the brothers were released without being charged, law enforcement officially announced
that Smollett had become a suspect in their investigation.
In light of the developments, Smollett's behavior came under increased scrutiny.
According to TMZ, law enforcement sources claimed Smollett initially agreed to sign
complaints against the men who had been taken into custody.
But when he found out the men in custody were the Osundairo brothers, Smollett allegedly
declined.
Officially accused
On February 18th, Chicago's CBS 2 reported that the Osundairo brothers allegedly told
police that they were paid by Jussie Smollett to stage the assault.
The two men were supposedly paid $3,500, with an additional $500 promised once they'd returned
from a trip to Nigeria.
It was also reported that the three men had rehearsed the attack.
Smollett's lawyers released a statement to CNN denying that the TV star had any role
in the alleged attack.
The statement read in part,
"He has now been further victimized by claims attributed to these alleged perpetrators that
Jussie played a role in his own attack.
Nothing is further from the truth and anyone claiming otherwise is lying."
Reporting also revealed Smollett's relationship with the brothers, with one being described
as his personal trainer, whom he hired to help him get in shape for a music video.
An inspiring story?
Shortly after midnight on the night of the alleged attack, the Daily Mail reported that
the actor had just returned to Chicago from New York City, where he'd auditioned for a
revival of the play Take Me Out.
The Tony award-winning play follows the story of a biracial baseball player who comes out
as a gay man, and suffers an attack that some found eerily similar to the one Smollett described
to police.
During a delay on Smollett's return flight to Chicago, the Empire star began posting
messages to his Instagram story.
According to the Daily Mail, investigators allegedly believe that the social media posts
were shared to alert the Osundairo brothers that he was back in Chicago, and ready to
meet.
A threatening letter
Investigators reportedly believe that Smollett staged a fake attack after first sending himself
a piece of fabricated hate mail, care of Fox Studios.
According to ABC News, the Osundairo brothers have claimed that the actor wasn't satisfied
with the reaction he got from the threatening letter, and decided to stage a hate crime
against himself instead.
The widely-publicized letter featured a crude drawing of a stick figure hanging from a tree
with a gun pointing towards it, alongside a death threat, a homophobic slur, and the
acronym "MAGA."
The slogan was also allegedly shouted during Smollett's alleged assault.
The FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service are reportedly analyzing the letter, which
was sent on January 22nd, to determine if the embattled actor may have played a part
in its creation.
Caught by police
On February 20th, the mounting suspicions against Smollett were taken to the next level
when the Chicago Police Department tweeted that the actor was officially being classified
as a suspect in his case.
Two hours later, Smollett was no longer merely a suspect.
It was announced that felony criminal charges had been filed against the actor for disorderly
conduct stemming from filing a false police report.
It was a stunning reversal for the performer, who had just weeks prior been subjected to
a nationwide outpouring of sympathy over the alleged attack.
Now, he was being sought by police on a felony charge.
On February 21st, Smollett turned himself in to the authorities, officially being placed
under arrest.
It also emerged that this incident wasn't the first time Smollett had allegedly provided
false information to police.
According to the New York Post, Smollett once pleaded no contest to providing false information
to police during a DUI traffic stop in Los Angeles.
In the complaint for the misdemeanor, which occurred in 2007, authorities say that the
Empire actor failed to give his own name when asked for it by an officer, instead offering
up the name of his brother Jake.
For lying to the police in that incident, Smollett eventually accepted a plea deal,
being sentenced to an alcohol education and treatment program as well as two years of
probation.
The fiery press conference
On February 21st, Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson delivered a blistering press
conference where he claimed Smollett, quote, "took advantage of the pain and anger of racism
to promote his career."
While Smollett is entitled to a presumption of innocence, the police superintendent made
it clear that the actions the actor was accused of were completely unacceptable, selfish,
and insulting to many.
During the conference, Johnson asked,
"Why would anyone, especially an African-American man, use the symbolism of a noose to make
false accusations?"
Johnson proceeded to confirm much of the speculation surrounding Smollett's alleged orchestration
of the attack.
The police representative made reference to a wide array of damning evidence, such as
the check Smollett allegedly wrote to the Osundairo brothers, and phone records between
the three men both before and after the incident.
Johnson also suggested that Smollett was indeed behind the racist, threatening letter sent
to his workplace at Fox the week before the alleged attack occurred.
As for why the actor would commit these drastic actions?
"The stunt was orchestrated by Smollett because he was dissatisfied with his salary."
Johnson told reporters, "When we discovered the actual motive, quite frankly it pissed
everybody off."
He maintains his innocence
After being released on $100,000 bail, Smollett returned to the Empire set, where he reportedly
apologized to the cast and crew for the media circus that the allegations against him had
generated.
But according to sources inside the meeting, Smollett maintained his innocence and blamed
both the media and the criminal justice system for his predicament.
His refusal to accept responsibility for the alleged hoax reportedly left people in attendance
feeling disappointed and distressed.
Following Smollett's bail hearing, the actor's attorneys denounced the police superintendent's
press conference in a statement, saying,
"Today we witnessed an organized law enforcement spectacle that has no place in the American
legal system.
The presumption of innocence, a bedrock in the search for justice, was trampled upon
at the expense of Mr. Smollett..."
Smollett's lawyers argued that their client's presumption of innocence had been trampled
on by the spectacle - an argument that Smollett himself reportedly made to Empire's cast and
crew.
According to TMZ, Smollett's apology didn't go over very well.
His fellow castmates were reportedly furious that his conduct had brought negative attention
to the series, even going so far as to allegedly demand that his character be written off the
show.
To a certain extent, the producers of the series apparently agreed.
Cut from the season
On February 22nd, the day after Smollett's arrest, executive producers of Empire announced
that Smollett's character Jamal Lyon would no longer be appearing in the final episodes
of the series' fifth season.
A statement signed by creator Lee Daniels and six other producers read in part,
"While these allegations are very disturbing, we are placing our trust in the legal system
as the process plays out.
We are also aware of the effects of this process on the cast and crew members who work on our
show, and to avoid further disruption on set, we have decided to remove the role of 'Jamal'
from the final two episodes of the season."
While Smollett has not been officially fired from the series as of the end of February,
it remains to be seen if he'll ever be allowed to return.
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