Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Police: 'Empire' Actor Staged Attack to 'Promote His Career'
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
February 21, 2019

Share

CHICAGO — “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett staged a racist and homophobic attack because he was unhappy about his salary and wanted to promote his career, Chicago’s police superintendent said Thursday.
Before the attack, Smollett also sent a threatening letter that targeted himself to the Fox studio in Chicago where “Empire” is filmed, Supt. Eddie Johnson said.

“He took advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career.” — Supt. Eddie Johnson
Smollett turned himself in and was arrested early Thursday to face accusations that he filed a false police report when he told authorities he was attacked in Chicago by two men who hurled racist and anti-gay slurs and looped a rope around his neck, police said.
“He took advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career,” Johnson told reporters at a news conference.
“This publicity stunt was a scar that Chicago didn’t earn and certainly didn’t deserve,” he later added.
The whispers about Smollett’s account started with reports that he had not fully cooperated with police after telling authorities he was attacked. Then detectives in a city bristling with surveillance cameras could not find video of the beating. Later, two brotherswere taken into custody for questioning but were released after two days, with police saying they were no longer suspects. Johnson said Smollett paid the brothers $3,500 to stage the attack.
Following three weeks of mounting suspicions, Smollett was charged Wednesday with felony disorderly conduct, a charge that could bring up to three years in prison and force the actor, who is black and gay, to pay for the cost of the investigation into his report of a Jan. 29 beating.

The Seemingly Sympathetic Victim of a Hate Crime

In less than a month, the 36-year-old changed from being the seemingly sympathetic victim of a hate crime to being accused of fabricating the entire thing.
The brothers are not considered suspects. Johnson said they wore gloves during the staged attack and “punched him a little bit.” He said scratches and brusing Smollett had on his face were “most likely self-inflicted.”
In a statement Wednesday, attorneys Todd Pugh and Victor Henderson said Smollett “enjoys the presumption of innocence, particularly when there has been an investigation like this one where information, both true and false, has been repeatedly leaked.”
Smollett, who plays a gay character on the hit Fox television show “Empire,” said he was attacked as he was walking home from a downtown Subway sandwich shop. He said the masked men beat him, made derogatory comments and yelled “This is MAGA country” — an apparent reference to President Donald Trump’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again” — before fleeing.
“Empire” is shot in Chicago and follows a black family as they navigate the ups and downs of the recording industry.
After reviewing hundreds of hours of video, detectives did find and release images of two people they said they wanted to question and last week picked up the brothers at O’Hare International Airport as they returned from Nigeria. Police questioned the men and searched their apartment.
The brothers, who were identified by their attorney as Abimbola “Abel” and Olabinjo “Ola” Osundairo, were held for nearly 48 hours on suspicion of assaulting Smollett.

Smollett Charged by Prosecutors, Not the Grand Jury

The day after they were released, police said the men provided information that had “shifted the trajectory of the investigation,” and detectives requested another interview with Smollett.
Police said one of the men had worked on “Empire,” and Smollett’s attorneys said one of the men is the actor’s personal trainer, whom he hired to help get him physically ready for a music video. The actor released his debut album, “Sum of My Music,” last year.

“There was a point where this story needed to be told, and they manned up and they said we’re going to correct this.”Gloria Schmidt
Smollett was charged by prosecutors, not the grand jury. Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the brothers appeared before the panel to “lock in their testimony.”
Speaking outside the courthouse where the grand jury met, the brothers’ attorney said the two men testified for about two and a half hours.
“There was a point where this story needed to be told, and they manned up and they said we’re going to correct this,” Gloria Schmidt said.
She said her clients did not care about a plea deal or immunity. “You don’t need immunity when you have the truth,” she said.
She also said her clients received money from Smollett, but she did not elaborate.
Smollett has been active in LBGTQ issues, and initial reports of the assault drew outrage and support for him on social media, including from Sen. Kamala Harris of California and TV talk show host Ellen DeGeneres.

Giving False Information to Police When He Was Pulled Over

Referring to a published account of the attack, President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that “it doesn’t get worse, as far as I’m concerned.”
But several hours after Smollett was declared a suspect and the charges announced, there was little reaction from celebrities online.
Former Cook County prosecutor Andrew Weisberg said judges rarely throw defendants in prison for making false reports, opting instead to place them on probation, particularly if they have no prior criminal record.
Smollett has a record — one that concerns giving false information to police when he was pulled over on suspicion of driving under the influence. According to records, he was also charged with false impersonation and driving without a license. He later pleaded no contest to a reduced charge and took an alcohol education and treatment program.
Another prospective problem is the bill someone might receive after falsely reporting a crime that prompted a nearly monthlong investigation, including the collection and review of hundreds of hours of surveillance video.
The size of the tab is anyone’s guess, but given how much time the police have invested, the cost could be huge.
Weisberg recently represented a client who was charged with making a false report after surveillance video discredited her account of being robbed by three men at O’Hare Airport.
For an investigation that took a single day, his client had to split restitution of $8,400, Weisberg said. In Smollett’s case, “I can imagine that this would be easily into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

4 Million Acres of California Forests Could Lose Protection. What Trump’s ‘Roadless Rule’ Repeal Could Do

DON'T MISS

Israeli Settlers Raid West Bank Town, Troops Kill 3 Palestinians

DON'T MISS

West Nile Virus Detected in Mosquitoes in Fresno County

DON'T MISS

Trump Says Netanyahu’s Trial Should Be Canceled

DON'T MISS

St. Agnes’ New Chief Medical Officer Is a Kidney Care Expert

DON'T MISS

US Military to Create Two New Border Zones, Officials Say

DON'T MISS

Trump Signals US May Ease Iran Oil Sanction Enforcement to Help Rebuild Country

DON'T MISS

CIA Says Intelligence Indicates Iran’s Nuclear Program Severely Damaged

DON'T MISS

Upscale Woodward Park Area Apartments Sell for $19 Million

DON'T MISS

Wired Wednesday: Learn the Latest on the Caleb Quick Murder Hearings

UP NEXT

Cuomo Concedes to Mamdani in New York City Democratic Mayoral Contest

UP NEXT

Mamdani Holds Lead Over Cuomo in Democratic Primary for NYC Mayor

UP NEXT

Clovis Man Sentenced to 8 Years in Federal Prison in Deadly Fentanyl Case

UP NEXT

Victims Identified as Death Toll Climbs to 8 in Lake Tahoe Boating Tragedy

UP NEXT

Florida to Build ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Detention Center for Migrants in Everglades

UP NEXT

Americans Worry Conflict With Iran Could Escalate, Reuters/Ipsos Poll Finds

UP NEXT

Advisory Warns of ‘Heightened Threat Environment’ in US After Iran Strikes

UP NEXT

Amazon’s Prime Day 2025 Levels Up With Four Days of Deals Starting July 8

UP NEXT

Voice of America Parent Terminates Over 600 More Staff in Likely Death Knell

UP NEXT

US Court Lets Trump Keep Control of California National Guard for Now

Trump Says Netanyahu’s Trial Should Be Canceled

8 hours ago

St. Agnes’ New Chief Medical Officer Is a Kidney Care Expert

9 hours ago

US Military to Create Two New Border Zones, Officials Say

9 hours ago

Trump Signals US May Ease Iran Oil Sanction Enforcement to Help Rebuild Country

9 hours ago

CIA Says Intelligence Indicates Iran’s Nuclear Program Severely Damaged

10 hours ago

Upscale Woodward Park Area Apartments Sell for $19 Million

11 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: Learn the Latest on the Caleb Quick Murder Hearings

12 hours ago

Trump Administration Orders CA to Strip Trans Athlete of Medals

12 hours ago

Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant Reboot Fast-Tracked to 2027

12 hours ago

Democratic Lawmaker Pleads Not Guilty to Assaulting US Agents at Immigration Center

12 hours ago

4 Million Acres of California Forests Could Lose Protection. What Trump’s ‘Roadless Rule’ Repeal Could Do

This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. The Trump administration’s plan to repeal a rule prohibiti...

8 hours ago

Tahoe National Forest
8 hours ago

4 Million Acres of California Forests Could Lose Protection. What Trump’s ‘Roadless Rule’ Repeal Could Do

Palestinians gather to receive aid supplies in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, June 17, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
8 hours ago

Israeli Settlers Raid West Bank Town, Troops Kill 3 Palestinians

West Nile virus mosquito
8 hours ago

West Nile Virus Detected in Mosquitoes in Fresno County

President Donald Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 7, 2025. (Reuters File)
8 hours ago

Trump Says Netanyahu’s Trial Should Be Canceled

9 hours ago

St. Agnes’ New Chief Medical Officer Is a Kidney Care Expert

A U.S. Border Patrol vehicle patrols along the border wall, following the establishment of a 260-mile military zone along the southern U.S. border in New Mexico and Texas as part of the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration, in Sunland Park, New Mexico, U.S., May 20, 2025. (Reuters File)
9 hours ago

US Military to Create Two New Border Zones, Officials Say

Oil tankers pass through the Strait of Hormuz, December 21, 2018. (Reuters File)
9 hours ago

Trump Signals US May Ease Iran Oil Sanction Enforcement to Help Rebuild Country

CIA Director John Ratcliffe speaks during an interview at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 30, 2025. (Reuters File)
10 hours ago

CIA Says Intelligence Indicates Iran’s Nuclear Program Severely Damaged

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend