Anyone else been watching this story develop over the past two weeks?
It began with allegations of a very disturbing hate crime. Jussie Smollet ended up in the hospital. Questions began soon afterwards and now CNN is reporting it may be a publicity hoax.
Yah, I was watching it. There were a number of things that seemed odd. He kept the rope around his neck. He had very little injuries. There was a lack of camera support in a city full of cameras.
Case is going to a Grand Jury. I’m surprised because it appears the cops don’t buy Jussie’s story. I guess the Grand Jury will try and get the truth? Jussie better tell the truth there.
If they have any doubt about the veracity of his account then there is no way his lawyers will allow him to speak to the grand jury. That is much more serious than lying to the cops. You are not compelled to make any testimony that may implicate yourself in a crime. But you’re not allowed to lie under oath either.
I won’t go into detail because I spoke more at length in the pit thread already. From the beginning before I even knew who this guy was the story seemed off. I didn’t immediately jump to the conclusion of a hoax but I felt it wasn’t exactly the way he said it was.
Yeah, perjury at a grand jury is a lot more serious than filing a false police report.
I expect Jussie’s lawyers will try to get him to fess up before the grand jury meets. End this now, before it gets any more serious. He’ll still be in some trouble but that’s on him for what he’s done.
I am aware of this story. I assessed the actor as not being noteworthy, so I filed it under “stupid sh*t people do.” Too bad the rest of the world won’t do the same.
I believe the assertion was that the attackers said “this is MAGA country”. This does not sound to me like something a racist homophobic Trump supporter would say - but it does sound like something someone who believes that Trump supporters are all racist and homophobic would think they say.
It’s like George Zimmerman claiming that Trayvon Martin said “you got me” after Zimmerman shot him. I bet Zimmerman thought that this is what someone who got shot would say. Zimmerman watched too many movies; Smollet listened to too many Trump bashers.
I wonder what his motive was (assuming it was a hoax). Just attention-seeking? Was he going to carve out a new career as a professional victim, or go into politics? Or did he think it would help his career as an actor?
It’s too bad. This kind of thing makes it harder to believe when real incidents happen.
Exactly. If Smollett is lying this will be used to try to minimize and discredit real attacks, both past and future. He’s giving a gift to racists and homophobes.
I wonder if he lives in such a liberal echo chamber that he never imagined this could become a police matter, because he thought that in “racist” America, racial crimes against blacks are not prosecuted.
Fair point – your usual violent bigot does not pause mid-assault to explain his ideological basis, and few criminal perps or victims IRL use standard catchphrases from popular media in the heat of the encounter.
And the thing is, homo/xenophobic, racist, sexist aggressions DO happen, but mostly to those in no position to call upon public opinion in a timely fashion.
(And BTW that in itself is an argument *against *using a celebrity *hoax *to bring attention to the issue, because when you are a celebrity, it *will *be investigated.)