While it remains to be seen if Jussie Smollett will be proven as faking the attack he says he suffered last month, a possible motive has emerged. If the two men cooperating with police – Ola and Abel Osundairo – are to be believed, it’s because Smollett was upset that a threatening letter received by the studio didn’t get a bigger reaction.
Something else the Osundairo brothers want people to know? “We are not racist. We are not homophobic and we are not anti-Trump,” they said in a statement to CBS Chicago. “We were born and raised in Chicago and are American citizens.”
As we told you yesterday, the brothers – who are apparently friendly with Smollett – were allegedly paid $35-hundred by him to participate in the incident. Their attorney, Gloria Schmidt adds, “In due course all the facts will reveal themselves, and at the end of the day, my clients are honest and credible.”
- As for Smollett, he has yet to speak with police in spite of their requests. Speaking with CBS Chicago, his legal team also declined to respond to the latest developments. “We are not going to respond to every new, anonymous accusation or rumor,” a spokesperson says in a statement. “Jussie Smollett’s lawyers are in contact with the Chicago Police Department. Jussie will continue to cooperate with the investigation in an appropriate and respectful manner that does not include talking to media at this time.”
- Meanwhile, while some of Smollett’s famous friends and fans are sticking by him, others are dialing down the ardent support they initially offered. Among them, TV personality Rev. Al Sharpton, who spoke of his outrage initially, now of a hate crime against him. Sharpton said law enforcement needs to find out what happened and the guilty should suffer the maximum. When Senator Kamala Harris was pressed on the campaign trail by reporters about her initial tweet calling the alleged attack a “modern day lynching,” her response was muted.