Jussie Smollett isn’t coming back to Empire for its final season, but he’s still facing lots of drama. Unfortunately for him and for fans of his character on the hit show, he’ll be dealing with that angst off-camera.
Jussie Smollett Indicted
NBC News is reporting that Smollett is facing charges in connection to a police report from January 2019 in which he said he was the victim of a homophobic and racist hate crime in Chicago.
Smollett, 37, has been indicted by a grand jury on six disorderly conduct charges according to Chicago Special Prosecutor Dan Webb. Empire’s former Jamal is looking at a $130,000 lawsuit with the city of Chicago. That’s the cost it took for his false charges to be investigated.
Smollett has been indicted with making four separate false claims to the Chicago Police Department related to his claims that he was a hate crime victim. The actor said that he’d been attacked by two men yelling homophobic and racial slurs at him and that those men wrapped a rope around his neck. He said the incident allegedly occurred at approximately 2 a.m. in the Streeterville neighborhood.
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Law officers interviewed Nigerian brothers Ola and Abel Osundairo, and a theory emerged that Smollett had paid the two $3,500 to stage the attack. A year ago, Smollett was charged with felony disorderly conduct for allegedly making a false report.
Surprise Twist
In a shocking twist worthy of a soap opera, Smollett’s charges were all dropped a year ago in March. After that happened, a Cook County judge appointed Web as a special prosecutor. Smollett has continued to deny reports that he concocted his assault and is counter-suing the city of Chicago.
Prosecutors have said that Smollett became acquainted with the Osundairo brothers in 2017 when they worked on Empire. Abel Osundairo worked on-set as a stand-in for one of Smollett’s co-stars. There are reports that Smollett and the Osundairo brothers socialized and one worked for a time as Smollett’s personal trainer.
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