# Jussie Smollett (Empire) alleged hate crime attack. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 17, 2019, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jussie-smollett-empire-alleged-hate-crime-attack/829706 "2019-02-17T04:04:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jussie-smollett-empire-alleged-hate-crime-attack/829706/1 "2019-02-17T04:04:36Z")
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. That’s even more disturbing than the original allegations. Smollet portrays a gay character on Empire. His role on the show was winding down. [https://www-m.cnn.com/2019/02/16/entertainment/jussie-smollett-attack/index.html?r=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F](https://www-m.cnn.com/2019/02/16/entertainment/jussie-smollett-attack/index.html?r=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F) [https://www-m.cnn.com/2019/02/15/entertainment/jussie-smollett-suspects/index.html?r=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F](https://www-m.cnn.com/2019/02/15/entertainment/jussie-smollett-suspects/index.html?r=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F) [https://www-m.cnn.com/2019/02/15/entertainment/jussie-smollett-attack-details/index.html?r=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F](https://www-m.cnn.com/2019/02/15/entertainment/jussie-smollett-attack-details/index.html?r=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F) > [@](#): > > Two law enforcement sources with knowledge of the investigation tell CNN that Chicago Police believe actor Jussie Smollet paid two men to orchestrate an assault on him that he reported late last month. > > The men, who are brothers, were arrested Wednesday but released without charges Friday after Chicago police cited the discovery of “new evidence.” > > The sources told CNN the two men are now cooperating fully with law enforcement. > > Smollett told authorities he was attacked early January 29 by two men who were “yelling out racial and homophobic slurs.” He said one attacker put a rope around his neck and poured an unknown chemical substance on him. ---
**Author:** ![Yodalicious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yodalicious/32/8195_2.png) [@Yodalicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yodalicious)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jussie-smollett-empire-alleged-hate-crime-attack/829706/2 "2019-02-17T04:07:02Z")
This is why we can’t have nice things. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jussie-smollett-empire-alleged-hate-crime-attack/829706/3 "2019-02-17T04:12:38Z")
Yes, a publicity stunt is a terrible disservice to all the victims of hate crimes. Washington Post has the story too. [https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/arts-entertainment/2019/02/15/chicago-police-say-there-is-no-evidence-jussie-smolletts-assault-claims-are-hoax/](https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/arts-entertainment/2019/02/15/chicago-police-say-there-is-no-evidence-jussie-smolletts-assault-claims-are-hoax/) > [@](#): > > Chicago police say new information in the case involving an alleged assault against Jussie Smollett has “shifted the trajectory of the investigation” and that they want to interview the “Empire” actor again. > > In a statement Saturday night, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the information was received in interviews with two individuals who were questioned by police and that the department has reached out to Smollett’s attorney to request a follow-up interview. Representatives for Smollett did not immediately respond to a request for comment. > [@](#): > > The latest police statement comes amid increasing news reports, which cite unnamed police sources, that Smollett may have staged his own attack in the city last month. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jussie-smollett-empire-alleged-hate-crime-attack/829706/4 "2019-02-17T04:18:19Z")
Too elaborate and theatrical. The guy probably wants to direct. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jussie-smollett-empire-alleged-hate-crime-attack/829706/5 "2019-02-17T04:25:30Z")
[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=870927](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=870927) There is already a thread on this. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jussie-smollett-empire-alleged-hate-crime-attack/829706/6 "2019-02-17T04:26:02Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jussie-smollett-empire-alleged-hate-crime-attack/829706/7 "2019-02-17T05:02:20Z")
There’s conflicting reports whether Smollett was being written off Empire. Everyone is in CYA mode on this thing. He will be off the show if this is proven to be a hoax. Imho His career will be over. I don’t watch the show. I assume he has a big role? > **[Fox Denies Jussie Smollett Was Being Written Off 'Empire'](https://www.etonline.com/fox-denies-jussie-smollett-was-being-written-off-empire-amid-staged-attack-rumor-119727)** > > The statement comes after rumors surfaced that the actor allegedly staged the attack. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2019, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jussie-smollett-empire-alleged-hate-crime-attack/829706/8 "2019-02-18T00:09:08Z")
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. > **[Jussie Smollett Case to Go to Grand Jury](https://www.tmz.com/2019/02/17/jussie-smollett-grand-jury-attack-brothers-trump-empire/)** > > Jussie Smollett case will go to Grand Jury, cops say, "No Trump supporter watches Empire so MAGA doesn't make sense." > [@](#): > > We’re told the way they tracked the 2 brothers down was by their movements in arriving and leaving the scene around Jussie’s apartment building. As we reported, they left in either a cab or an Uber, but we’re told cops tracked the vehicle and the 2 brothers got out on their way home and into another vehicle. As one source put it, “It was almost like a bad spy movie.” > > The sources say there were red flags from the get-go. Cops were extremely suspicious when Jussie took them out to the area where he said he was attacked and pointed to an obscure camera saying how happy he was that the attack was on video. Turns out the camera was pointing in the wrong direction. Cops thought it was weird he knew the location of that camera. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2019, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jussie-smollett-empire-alleged-hate-crime-attack/829706/9 "2019-02-18T00:18:30Z")
I had never heard of him before this, but I suspected it was a hoax from the outset. Anyone else remember this? > **[Morton Downey's swastika - 1989](http://www.bogushatecrimes.com/89_MortonDowneySwastika.php)** > > Maybe it's unfair to include Morton Downey, Jr., on a website about bogus hate crimes since the man never admitted that he faked this incident, but nobody anywhere on Planet Earth thinks that he didn't fake it... ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2019, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jussie-smollett-empire-alleged-hate-crime-attack/829706/10 "2019-02-18T03:27:46Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > 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. > [Jussie Smollett Case to Go to Grand Jury](https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.tmz.com/2019/02/17/jussie-smollett-grand-jury-attack-brothers-trump-empire/) 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. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2019, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jussie-smollett-empire-alleged-hate-crime-attack/829706/11 "2019-02-18T03:45:11Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I had never heard of him before this, but I suspected it was a hoax from the outset. > > Anyone else remember this? > > [Morton Downey's swastika - 1989](http://www.bogushatecrimes.com/89_MortonDowneySwastika.php) I was thinking of [Obamaface](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashley_Todd_mugging_hoax). ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2019, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jussie-smollett-empire-alleged-hate-crime-attack/829706/12 "2019-02-18T04:36:29Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > 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. ---
**Author:** ![Pithily\_Effusive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pithily_effusive/32/252_2.png) [@Pithily\_Effusive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pithily_Effusive)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2019, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jussie-smollett-empire-alleged-hate-crime-attack/829706/13 "2019-02-18T06:02:20Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Miles\_Standoffish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/54ee81/32.png) [@Miles\_Standoffish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miles_Standoffish)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2019, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jussie-smollett-empire-alleged-hate-crime-attack/829706/14 "2019-02-18T15:46:23Z")
> [@Pithily\_Effusive](#): > > 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. He made it about Trump, so yeah they won’t. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2019, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jussie-smollett-empire-alleged-hate-crime-attack/829706/15 "2019-02-18T16:13:23Z")
Smollett is an actor and gay activist. He’s claiming that made him a target for a hate crime. That’s not something to be ignored. Even Al Sharpton is rethinking his support of Smollett. > **[Al Sharpton: Hold Jussie Smollett accountable if he staged attack](https://pagesix.com/2019/02/18/al-sharpton-hold-jussie-smollett-accountable-if-he-staged-attack/)** > > Reports have emerged that Smollett paid the budding actor-models $3,500 to stage the 2 a.m. attack. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2019, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jussie-smollett-empire-alleged-hate-crime-attack/829706/16 "2019-02-18T16:23:10Z")
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. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2019, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jussie-smollett-empire-alleged-hate-crime-attack/829706/17 "2019-02-18T16:34:45Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > … > > It’s too bad. This kind of thing makes it harder to believe when real incidents happen. > > Regards, > > Shodan 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. ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2019, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jussie-smollett-empire-alleged-hate-crime-attack/829706/18 "2019-02-18T17:06:41Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2019, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jussie-smollett-empire-alleged-hate-crime-attack/829706/19 "2019-02-18T17:19:29Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > 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. 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. > [@davidm](#): > > 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. 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.) I can’t help but SMH. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2019, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jussie-smollett-empire-alleged-hate-crime-attack/829706/20 "2019-02-18T17:21:05Z")
> [@Arcite](#): > > I wonder if he …never imagined this could become a police matter,… . Didn’t he call the cops? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jussie-smollett-empire-alleged-hate-crime-attack/829706.md?page=2)