CHICAGO — A popular actor steps out onto the street and is brutally reminded that, despite his fame and wealth, places still exist where the color of his skin and sexual orientation put him in danger.
This was the story that spread around the globe. Jussie Smollett, a Black and openly gay actor, reported to Chicago police that he was the victim of a hate crime.
Smollett, nearly three years later is just about toYou can stand trialHe was accused of staging the entire thing.
He was charged with felony disorderly conduct after law enforcement and prosecutors said he lied to police about what happened in the early morning hours of Jan. 29, 2019, in downtown Chicago. He has pleaded no guilty. Monday is the scheduled start of jury selection. Although a class 4 felony, disorderly conduct can carry a maximum sentence of three years in prison, experts believe it’s more likely that Smollett will be sentenced to probation and ordered to do community service.
Smollett said that he was returning from Subway at 2 AM when he saw two men who he claimed recognized him from the television show. “Empire”All rights reserved He is being hurled homophobic and racial slurs at him. He said that men had attacked him, and then he looped a makeshift necktie around his neck, shouting. “This is MAGA country,” a reference to then-President Donald Trump’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.”
Reaction to his reported assault underscored the increasingly polarized political landscape; Democratic politicians and others called it a shocking example of Trump-era bigotry and hate, while Republicans accused liberals of rushing to paint the president’s supporters as racists.
Just weeks later came the stunning announcement that Smollett was charged with staging the attack to further his career and secure a higher salary. And, police said, he hired two brothers from Nigeria, to pretend to attack him for $3,500.
Smollett’s career was made even more visible by this scandal. However, he was also criticized for his willingness to use the most powerful symbol of racism in the U.S. to help himself.
“The most vile and despicable part of it, if it’s true, is the noose,” Judge John Fitzgerald Lyke Jr., who is Black, said during Smollett’s first court appearance. “That symbol conjures up such evil in this country’s history.”
“I miss him”How Empire addressed the writing of Jussie’s character
Smollett became a national joker. He was the subject a “Saturday Night Live”skit, and a host Black celebrities, including NBA analyst Charles Barkley and comedian Dave Chappelle took turns making fun of him.
Then came the anger that Smollett’s fame accorded him influence that is out of reach for most. Reports indicated Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, at the request of former first lady Michelle Obama’s onetime chief of staff, communicated with a member of Smollett’s family early in the investigation. Foxx resigned from the case, then her office dropped the charges. Foxx was at the center of a media storm as she denied that her office granted the television star a break.
All that set the stage for what turned a simple question of Smollett’s innocence or guilt into a convoluted legal saga that has dragged on for nearly three years.
More:Jussie Smollett claims innocence in rare interview. Judge denies motion to dismiss case
The COVID-19 epidemic caused delays in the trial. This led to cases being halted for many months across the country. But also, charges were filed, dropped and filed again by a special prosecutor who was brought in to take over the case.
Smollett — whose career has since faded — will this week return to the glare of the media spotlight, but this time as he passes the forest of news cameras as he makes his way to and from court.
Producers of “Empire,” on which he starred for four years, renewed his contract for the sixth and final season in 2019, but he never appeared in an episode. He has never released any music, nor performed significant musical acts.
However, he has directed an independent film that he funded through his own production company and which is being premiered at the American Black Film Festival in this month. The movie “B-Boy Blues”This adaptation is a 1994 novel about gay Black men living in New York.
However, once Smollett is in court, the movie that will be shown will sound bad. This is because a short movie was exactly what authorities long believed Smollett was trying create.
Previously:Jussie Smollett is back in court to hear about his lawyer
The brothers Olabinjo Osundairo and Abimbola Osundairo will be key witnesses. They claim that Smollett gave them a check to set up the attack. They are expected to describe Smollett the star and director for an attack. “attack”In full view of the surveillance camera he believed would record the entire event.
Their lawyer says that the brothers will also tell you how Smollett drove them there. “dress rehearsal.”
“He was telling them ‘Here’s a camera, there’s a camera and here’s where you are going to run away,’”Gloria Rodriguez, Gloria Rodriguez’s lawyer, stated that they were legally bound.
