Controversy Surrounding Jussie Smollett's Attack

[Gareth The Great 20]

Jussie Smollett, an actor in Empire, filed a police report near the end of January stating that he was targeted by two masked men who were motivated by racism and homophobia which could make it a hate crime in the U.S. During the attack Smollett says they beat him, poured bleach on him, and put a noose around his neck. Since the beginning, some critics have suggested that he staged the incident himself. The police picked up two suspects for questioning and those men have claimed that Smollett paid for the whole thing. Charges haven't been brought and the two men were released which suggests the police believe their story. It still seems unfathomable to me that Smollett could have orchestrated this whole thing. What do you think about the controversy surrounding Smollett's attack?

[Zack T 171]

It's a big mess right now. I dunno if the accusations of staging the attack are true, but it does seem like perhaps the media or other folks sensationalized the attack and added details that may not have been true (MAGA country and whatnot). It's a big mess. I hope he really didn't stage the attack though, that'd be a career killer for him and a really bad move.

[headrush 8]

This story gets a little muddier each day. I don't know who to believe. It's weird to me that if Smollett and the two actor brothers staged this, it's connected to Smollett being written out of Empire. I agree, @Zack T , what a career killer if the story checks out.

[Guest Eversleigh]

I don't believe Smollett had anything to do with it. I believe he's an innocent victim. That country is so weird right now. The fact that people were immediately saying the whole thing was fake just smacks of victim blaming. Some of the twitter accounts spreading that narrative were found to be bots. You have to wonder what the motive was to try to discredit him so quickly. And the reason they're saying he was in on it has been proving false. Those in charge of the hiring and firing decisions at Empire spoke out that Smollett was never in danger of losing his job. They had never discussed dismissing his character. He's one of the lead stars in that programme. They've offered to talk to the police to explain that, but they've not been contacted. Smollett reported in his police report that one of the things said to him was "this is MAGA country." I'd honestly have more reason to believe that Smollett set it up if the "MAGA followers" hadn't been shown to be violent at protests and political rallies, if the police over the pond didn't have a history of killing people of color, and if that country's leader hadn't claimed that both sides of the protest event had good people and both sides were to blame for it going sour after a member of a hate group ran his car into a bird and killed her. It's just an odd situation over there. I guess it could be false, but I don't see the Smollett's motive and I don't see how so many bots and people would know as soon as the police report was filed to cry "fake".

[Zack T 171]

One thing throwing a wrench in it is the 2 dudes apprehended are claiming Smollett paid them to do it. It's also problematic that both apprehended dudes are black themselves, which kind've makes the whole "MAGA Country" and lynching aspect of the incident more questionable.

 

But then again, that could be a really tricky ploy by these guys. After all, if you wanted to attack someone and get away with it, casting that much doubt is a good way to go.

 

The USA is pretty messed up right now. Not that other places aren't, though. But we've got a fairly stupid, willfully ignorant population who's easily stirred up by politicians and news that are working for corporations/special interests and themselves, no one else. Plus the President, who is more concerned with stroking his ego and profits than actually doing good for the country as a whole.

 

I worry that the US population is too stupid and divided to ever come together like we have in the past, or like other countries have in the past or even recently. The political system has done such a great job at dividing everyone that compromise and understanding are now viewed as weakness and trying to work across party lines is viewed as treason. That extends to the general public, everything is so intense and people fly off the handle about everything. I think the only way proper change will happen is if there's a catastrophic natural disaster that affects the whole country, a war that we lose, or economic collapse.

[Guest Eversleigh]

I hope it didn't seem as though I was calling the country rubbish or saying anything terrible. I'm sorry if it came across that way. My intent was setting out why I believe Smollett is a victim rather than a co-conspirator. I could be absolutely wrong. If so, I hope we'll learn his motive for staging the whole thing.

 

It's true that we have our own issues. We're still caught up in Brexit and at the moment, both the Tory Party and Labour Party are seeing MPs split to join another party. It's madness. And had someone asked whether I thought actor X or actress Y from Wales staged their assault and it had anything to do with the political and social environment here, I'd bring it up too.

[Poppy 31]

I guess it could be false, but I don't see the Smollett's motive and I don't see how so many bots and people would know as soon as the police report was filed to cry "fake".

I think so many people knew it was a faked event because a Chicago police officer immediately leaked that information to the public and the media. Now the fact that an officer leaked it is odd I think. I would think it was against their employment rules and I wonder why the officer wasn't afraid of tainting the investigation or ruining the prosecutor's future case. That part I don't get, but maybe someone here can explain it better. I've never been a police officer, so perhaps there's a strategy involved that I'm not privy to. Some policemen and policewomen have been found guilty of fabricating evidence in many areas of the world, and the Chicago police and politicians have certainly had their share of problems in that area. It wasn't long ago that a Chicago detective was accused of framing 51 people or so. Some other officers were part of it too, but Detective Reynaldo Guevara was the main culprit. During testimony Guevara invoked his 5th Amendment rights 200 times and used a lot of "I don't knows" and "I don't remembers." The jury thought Guevara had committed those crimes and awarded one of his victims $17 million in damages. That's what could be happening right now. However, I find Smollett's behavior odd too. While it's true that we shouldn't victim blame, if I was the victim in this case I'd give the investigators anything they asked for. Smollett hasn't been that forthcoming. I don't know what to believe.

 

I was born in the UK, my family lived here on and off and I'm here now, but while growing up I also lived in Australia and the United States for my father's job. During my time in the U.S. a respected law enforcement officer was convicted of staging his kidnapping and torturing himself him. I wish I could share more details about it with you, but I just can't remember more. He didn't seem to have a motive at the time. I hope I'm remembering this right.

[Guest whothe_h_isshane]

This is such a difficult topic, because people really rooted for him and really believed him, because there was no reason to believe otherwise and it is starting to look like it was just him setting it up and if that is true, that is really upsetting, because this does happen in every day life and people will stop believing actual victims. He should talk to the police and not cry wolf on social media.

[Poppy 31]

Maybe. However the Chicago police have a history of framing people and fabricating evidence. The Chicago police department was mandated to reform due to their corruption and systemic abuse. I think Trump/Sessions did away with it though. The city owes reparations for some illegally convicted criminals that were regularly tortured with electrical shocks, beatings, and so forth. Many accused inmates were tortured until they confessed to the crime and then tortured afterward just for fun. Don't forget that many people can't afford bail so they're stuck there until their trial. A lot of terrible things went on and the racism has been going on for years. And the police lie about their actions because they know they won't get into trouble or even if they're convicted, it won't be for long. I believe it was Jon Burge who was the commander of the police department who was found guilty of leading the torturing of inmates. Every cop on the force knew it was happening. Not one of them put a stop to it. Burge only did four years in prison. If you're caught with drugs you'll do longer than that. Nothing has changed. I don't think all police officers are bad people by any means, but some definitely are. There have been at least 19 wrongful convictions overturned in the situation that I mentioned about the detective, Reynaldo Guevara, who faced charges for framing 50-51 people. Those 19 individuals have been set free and more will likely follow, however, many of those people have spent years in prison already. That can't be undone.

 

That's the tricky part. The police there aren't trustworthy and Smollett's behaviour seems odd. I'm not sure who is right.

Edited February 21, 2019 by Poppy

[Zack T 171]

Smollett has turned himself in, but that's all the details we have at this moment about it. He's charged with a felony - filing a false police report.

[Gareth The Great 20]

@Poppy I totally understand that there's been some bias in that city and it's very possible that it's ongoing, but there's been one glaring detail that I think makes this situation different. Just like us in the U.K., the U.S. treats their celebrities as special, and many act as though they're above the law. I believe those bad things happened that you reported. I looked them up and the jury determined it was the truth. It's awful that police officers broke the law, violated rights, and threw the system into chaos. However, while race played a role in a lot of cases, so did poverty and the lack of power. Smollett isn't in the same situation. He has money and power. It's like comparing apples and oranges. I don't see Smollett's motive at all, but maybe it will come out.

 

 

@Zack T I think they had a warrant for his arrest so of course he turned himself him. Unless he was going to pull an OJ. Or are you saying that he confessed? I love Empire and hate for it to be tainted with this. I sure hope the bloke didn't do it. It's easier to think that two other blokes were prats than to think someone would play victim for sport and take up the investigators' time. If he's guilty, do you believe his behaviour will set gay people and African American's back even further or will this be viewed as one bad seed among the lot like all groups have? I'm not great at reading American culture. Thanks for reading all of our walls of text. It's hard to follow the action as perfectly when you don't live there.

[Zack T 171]

No he just showed up to deal with it, which is smart. He still maintains innocence. Bail is set pretty high at 100,000. Seems pretty harsh for disorderly conduct and filing a false police report if you ask me. Not to mention the judge says he has to surrender his passport if he pays bail.

 

On one hand I can understand not playing around with folks who knowingly file a false police report. But on the other hand, innocent until proven guilty - EVEN IF he actually is guilty, it was a nonviolent crime from a guy with no known prior criminal history. He's reasonably famous so it's not like he can really hide out. It just seems a bit excessive to demand that much bail and those terms.

[lymmo 8]

This is such a difficult topic, because people really rooted for him and really believed him, because there was no reason to believe otherwise and it is starting to look like it was just him setting it up and if that is true, that is really upsetting, because this does happen in every day life and people will stop believing actual victims. He should talk to the police and not cry wolf on social media.

This is one of those issues that will generate a lot of heated debate. The police will only be able to rightfully charge Smollett if they can bring more evidence, aside from witness statements.