Jussie Smollett has been busted. The star of the Fox show “Empire” was formally charged with filing a false police report over a bogus hate crime from January 29. He alleged that two white men in red caps punched him, doused him in bleach, and tied a rope around his neck. The actor was reportedly on his way back from Subway. It was freezing cold…and these two guys just happened to recognize him on the street. Nothing about the case made sense, but Trump is president and they wore red hats. The liberal media ran with it. They were proven wrong.
It was two Nigerian brothers. One of which was an extra on “Empire” and the other was Smollett’s former personal trainer. He reportedly paid them to execute this hoax…with a check. The two brothers are seen on surveillance footage buying the materials for the fake assault. They were considered persons of interest and cooperated fully with the police investigation that took valuable resources and manpower hours away from real crimes. So, Smollett faces a hefty fine and possibly jail time for this fiasco. And why did he execute this hate crime hoax? He was upset with his salary on the show it seems, though there is another story that he was also upset that a racist letter with white power, later determined to be aspirin, did not receive enough media attention. Oh, and he allegedly created this letter and sent it to himself. It’s a trainwreck.
Now, Smollett is saying he has an untreated drug problem, which some see as a way for him to mitigate chances of jail time should that become a possibility with the legal fallout (via Page Six):
Jussie Smollett told cops he has an untreated drug problem — raising questions about whether he might try to use the claim to at least get any potential prison sentence reduced, according to a report Friday.
[…]
Prosecutors said Abimbola “Abel” Osundairo, one of the brothers who helped Smollett allegedly stage the Jan. 29 hate attack, served as Smollett’s drug dealer, selling him Molly several times since the spring of 2018.
The 36-year-old actor, in claiming to have a drug problem, could be paving the way to use it as a “mitigating factor” when it comes to sentencing, the site said.
Smollett is out on bond and he will be cut out of the last two episodes of Empire this season. If Smollett wanted the attention, he got it.
BONUS: Yes, he's become a punchline and Charles Barkley wasted no time on TNT's NBA Halftime Show. Shaq couldn't keep it together.
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