TrueStar Staff 
Where do I even begin? I’ve been staring at this blank page for about 20 minutes now trying to figure out what to say.
Sigh.
Jussie Smollett.
For those of you who have been following, I’m pretty sure you already know what’s going on. For those of you who haven’t been following, get yourself situated because it’s a lot to unpack.
Smollett, an actor on the FOX drama “Empire,” was allegedly assaulted on January 29, 2019, by two men who “yelled out racial and homophobic slurs.” Now when this first hit the streets everyone was in a frenzy. The media/social media went completely nuts for multiple reasons. (1) Smollett is a pretty loved actor, so hearing about this attack was devastating to some. (2) To see that we still live in a world where racist feel comfortable to attack someone for being gay and Black is unsettling. But to be fair we do live in this type of world.
What shocked most people is how Smollett was attacked. A noose was thrown around his neck and the attacked supposedly poured bleach on him. Now here’s the part that has thrown everyone for a loop: it was all made up.
Chicago Police Department has confirmed that Smollett orchestrated the entire attack in order to boost his career and give him a pay increase on “Empire.” How a homophobic/racially charged assault would help Smollett negotiate the terms of his contract is beyond me. The two just don’t correlate.
On February 21, 2019, Smollett was taken into custody for falsifying a police report. Now let me just say this, what the brother is accused of doing obviously is not right. In fact it’s just plain dumb, especially to have this all unfold during Black History Month.
Again, sigh.
However, he is not the first man to make a false report to the police that involves race. Not too long ago Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte filed a false report saying he and several of his teammates were robbed at gunpoint. They even had psychology experts come in and say that “it was only natural” for Ryan to lie because he was under a lot of stress. Needless to say the case was thrown out.
Now what’s the difference between this case and Smollett’s? I’ll let you guys decide that one.
Still none of this changes the fact that Smollett’s actions not only jeopardized his career (in fact he was recently “removed” from the show), but they also reflect poorly on all of the change and progression that activists and revolutionaries are trying to make happen in this country.
Superintendent of CPD, Eddie Johnson stated in a press conference, “This false report took away from resources that we could’ve used to solve actual crimes in this city. We did not discover until the 47th hour of holding the two boys who attacked Smollett that the whole thing was a hoax.”
The evidence stacked against Smollett is very damning, and the level of disappointment is high. Many Chicagoans feel like Smollett owes the city an apology. Johnson is one of them. He also believes Smollett owes the city some coins for all the manpower put into this case.
Smollett, of course is maintaining his innocence and has hired a top-notch defense team to fight back against the allegations. If we’re going off everything we know so far, the situation is just like Johnson said during the press conference–“simply shameful.”
By Vernita Bediako, Mizzou Alumna
Twitter: @bediakoabena / Instagram: @rastaxgoddes / Blog: smalltalkbigthoughts.com
