# Jussie Smollett - Say It Ain't So **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 17, 2019, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jussie-smollett-say-it-aint-so/829698 "2019-02-17T00:34:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jussie-smollett-say-it-aint-so/829698/1 "2019-02-17T00:34:06Z")
It appears Jussie PAID his attackers and staged his racist mugging. > **[Police sources: New evidence suggests Jussie Smollett orchestrated attack | CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/16/entertainment/jussie-smollett-attack/index.html)** > > Two law enforcement sources with knowledge of the investigation tell CNN that Chicago Police believe the actor Jussie Smollett paid two men to orchestrate an assault on him that he reported late last month. Oh, fuck. I’m really hoping this isn’t true. Really, REALLY hoping, but not looking that way. The Orange Dick Suckers will eat this up as “proof” that libruls are the evil ones. Here’s HR too: > **[Jussie Smollett Attack: Chicago Police Believe Former Suspects Were Paid to...](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/jussie-smollett-attack-staged-chicago-police-believe-report-1187477/)** > > Chicago police believe that Jussie Smollett’s attack in Chicago was staged, two police sources told CNN. Jussie has hired Michael Cohen’s defense attorney. [tires screech, record scratches] ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jussie-smollett-say-it-aint-so/829698/2 "2019-02-17T00:54:23Z")
And this is why we can’t have nice things. It sounded fake from the start which is probably why there weren’t 10+ threads on the attack. A smile and a MAGA hat gave several posters the fits. You’d think if the details in this so-called case were true this board wouldn’t be able to suppress its righteous anger and indignation. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jussie-smollett-say-it-aint-so/829698/3 "2019-02-17T01:01:44Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > And this is why we can’t have nice things. It sounded fake from the start which is probably why there weren’t 10+ threads on the attack. A smile and a MAGA hat gave several posters the fits. You’d think if the details in this so-called case were true this board wouldn’t be able to suppress its righteous anger and indignation. It’s almost like the posters on this board are able to detect bullshit, and not go into paroxysms of outrage when someone is quite obviously making up outrageous shit… even if they are “on our side”. This is something you should be celebrating, and aspire to be more like. ---
**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 17, 2019, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jussie-smollett-say-it-aint-so/829698/4 "2019-02-17T01:04:22Z")
I had never heard of him before this. That’s not a criticism of his fame or talent. He just wasn’t in anything that I watched. Nor am I a Trump supporter so I wasn’t triggered by the MAGA references. There was nothing to give me an emotional knee-jerk reaction in any direction. From the beginning something was setting off my bullshit detector. Things just didn’t add up. Many improbable things had to of happened at once for his story to be true. Since there are no name sources and no official word the true story stil isn’t out. It will be interesting to see what happens in the end. ---
**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 17, 2019, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jussie-smollett-say-it-aint-so/829698/5 "2019-02-17T01:22:57Z")
> [@](#): > > From the beginning something was setting off my bullshit detector. Things just didn’t add up. Many improbable things had to of happened at once for his story to be true. Since there are no name sources and no official word the true story stil isn’t out. It will be interesting to see what happens in the end. I liked [this](https://thegrapevine.theroot.com/1832656748) comment at The Root: > [@](#): > > I haven’t hurled any slurs at him for either being black or gay. I don’t speak for everyone nor perhaps even a majority. I called BS on his story early on because I know that neighborhood probably better than Smollett does, and I know that in Chicago (a city of 2 political parties: Democrats and those who lose to Democrats), and especially that part of town, sightings of MAGA-hat-wearing Republicans at 2:00 a.m. on sub-zero windchill night carrying rope and bleach is less common than having my balls licked by a unicorn. ---
**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 17, 2019, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jussie-smollett-say-it-aint-so/829698/6 "2019-02-17T01:31:08Z")
When I first heard this story I was sympathetic until I heard about a rope. Here’s what I said: “A rope? Are you fucking kidding me??” I, of course, have no idea if the story is true. How could I know? I know that if you’re black and gay and looking for an accepting place, you could do worse than Streeterville downtown Chicago at night. Crime there isn’t going to give a fuck about your blackness or gayness. I mean, a fucking rope?!? And I believe that I read that when the cops showed up at his place, he still had it on. I hope he ain’t making this up, and that he experiences justice. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jussie-smollett-say-it-aint-so/829698/7 "2019-02-17T01:50:28Z")
His drug is a heartbreaker. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jussie-smollett-say-it-aint-so/829698/8 "2019-02-17T02:00:49Z")
Yeah, when I first heard about this, I thought it sounded strange. I thought Streeterville? WTF? Nobody’s wandering Streeterville at 2 am, looking for minorities to harrass. Especially when it’s so fucking cold out. And usually racist attacks in Chicago are just plain beat downs, like the Lenard Clark case. Thugs will just pound on you or shoot you. They aren’t going to be carrying around stuff like rope nooses. That’s dumb. And instead of some hapless homeless guy that Trump loving bigots would likely target, or some Hispanic restaurant worker on his way home after closing, these MAGA goons pick on a famous TV star who’s wandering around coldass deserted Streeterville at two in the morning. Um, yeah right. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jussie-smollett-say-it-aint-so/829698/9 "2019-02-17T02:05:51Z")
They need to throw the book at this guy. Incidents like this undermine public confidence in the reporting of actual hate crimes, of which there are many. ---
**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 17, 2019, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jussie-smollett-say-it-aint-so/829698/10 "2019-02-17T02:22:02Z")
Well, [he’s boned](https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/16/entertainment/jussie-smollett-attack/index.html). ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jussie-smollett-say-it-aint-so/829698/11 "2019-02-17T02:25:13Z")
So the thesis here is that the story was so outrageous there was no reason to debate it unlike the Covington brouhaha? Yeah, I can see that. That makes you guys magnitudes smarter than any Root, Deadspin, AV Club poster or author around the time of the attack ---
**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 17, 2019, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jussie-smollett-say-it-aint-so/829698/12 "2019-02-17T02:44:23Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > So the thesis here is that the story was so outrageous there was no reason to debate it… Yeah, pretty much. I can guess that you didn’t start a debate about it for, um, reasons? ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jussie-smollett-say-it-aint-so/829698/13 "2019-02-17T02:51:37Z")
(Shrug) No skin. My position would have been “Hold a gun to my head and I’ll vote hoax in a poll” And “For this to be true, ihe would have to have been targeted and stalked from his hotel.” Which wasn’t impossible, but seems unlikely. ---
**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 17, 2019, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jussie-smollett-say-it-aint-so/829698/14 "2019-02-17T03:01:40Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > So the thesis here is that the story was so outrageous there was no reason to debate it unlike the Covington brouhaha? > > Yeah, I can see that. That makes you guys magnitudes smarter than any Root, Deadspin, AV Club poster or author around the time of the attack I have no idea what you’re talking about. What does that even mean? I do know plenty of people were questioning it from the beginning. 2am in subzero temperatures 2 bigots happened to be walking around that part of Chicago with bleach and a rope to attack someone. These bigots apparently were Empire fans because they knew he was openly gay. The incident coincidentally happened during the only 60 seconds that he was not on camera. And amazingly everything that happened occurred only within those 60 seconds. Coincidentally he happened to be on the phone with his manager at 2 AM when he was out getting a sandwich. I will take the word of others who are more knowledgeable about the nature of the neighborhood but apparently it’s not exactly known for roving bands of Trump supporters. I’m probably forgetting some details and that was even before it turned out they were not only not white but that they also worked on the show with him. It was not enough for me to reach a conclusion as to what really happened but enough improbabilities in one 60 second timeframe to raise my eyebrow to Spock-like proportions. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jussie-smollett-say-it-aint-so/829698/15 "2019-02-17T03:22:07Z")
Someone in this thread implied that the reason there wasn’t a Covington long debate was because just about everyone at SD thought it was bullshit. I said “cool”. That makes everyone here smarter than 99% of the people in the Gizmodo groups. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jussie-smollett-say-it-aint-so/829698/16 "2019-02-17T03:25:46Z")
The “unknown chemical substance” seemed strange to me. As in why wouldn’t they say what it was after he’d been to a hospital/doctor. And no damages from said substance. I thought he exaggerated that part. But hiring people to do this is really fucked. What’s weird is how people hope it to be true, which can help show the racism in maga-crap, even though it’s already obvious. Why need these events in the first place? I guess Jussie didn’t care about that. ---
**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, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jussie-smollett-say-it-aint-so/829698/17 "2019-02-17T03:31:08Z")
Prior to this incident I had never heard of the guy and was only vaguely aware of the show he is in. A quick glance at his Wikipedia page shows that his career was doing really well at the moment. Is there any reason why he would need to notoriety right now or to be more relevant? Why the hell would he do this? ---
**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 17, 2019, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jussie-smollett-say-it-aint-so/829698/18 "2019-02-17T03:38:23Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > Someone in this thread implied that the reason there wasn’t a Covington long debate was because just about everyone at SD thought it was bullshit. > > I said “cool”. That makes everyone here smarter than 99% of the people in the Gizmodo groups. Sorry I took your tone wrong. Maybe no one here was interested enough to start a thread? I debated it. At the time I was not quite interested enough to put the effort in to start a thread. > [@hajario](#): > > Prior to this incident I had never heard of the guy and was only vaguely aware of the show he is in. A quick glance at his Wikipedia page shows that his career was doing really well at the moment. Is there any reason why he would need to notoriety right now or to be more relevant? Why the hell would he do this? That’s the big question (if the sources are correct). Originally there was a rumor that he was about to be dropped from the show. Fox has denied that. But who knows maybe they just didn’t want to kick him while he was down. This behavior might be an indication why they were looking to get rid of him. Maybe he was acting kooky on the set. I don’t know one way the other. Or maybe he thought this was a good idea to fire up some anti-Trump feelings. He is apparently very active in social justice. ---
**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 17, 2019, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jussie-smollett-say-it-aint-so/829698/19 "2019-02-17T03:44:08Z")
> [@Locrian](#): > > …What’s weird is how people hope it to be true, … As I’ve said, I for one suspect it’s not. But then again, I hope he’s not lying about it, because if he is he’s rather fucked. ---
**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 17, 2019, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jussie-smollett-say-it-aint-so/829698/20 "2019-02-17T03:49:51Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > As I’ve said, I for one suspect it’s not. But then again, I hope he’s not lying about it, because if he is he’s rather fucked. Wading into the swamp that is comment sections of news articles there was a lot of us vs them rooting. Mention of the alledged MAGA comment turned it into that for many. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jussie-smollett-say-it-aint-so/829698.md?page=2)