Nigerian Brother Gives Damning Testimony at Smollett Trial: Actor Coached Him on Throwing Fake Punches, Masterminded Hoax
Oh, what a tangled web we weave. It would appear that’s exactly what disgraced actor Jussie Smollett did when he allegedly staged an attack on himself in 2019.
The 39-year-old former “Empire” star faces six counts of felony disorderly conduct charges for making what prosecutors say were false police reports of being the victim of a “hate crime,” CNN reported.
Abimbola Osundairo, who also worked on “Empire,” testified Wednesday at Smollett’s trial that the actor recruited him and his brother to carry out the Jan. 29, 2019, attack in Chicago.
“We went over the details of what he wanted us to say and do,” Osundairo told the court.
Smollett allegedly told him to say, “Empire, f****t, n****r, MAGA.”
“We went over the details of what he wanted us to say and do,” Abimbola Osundairo told jurors in the Jussie Smollett trial.
Smollett allegedly told him to say, “Empire, f****t, n***er, MAGA” then the conversation moved to the physical aspect, he said. https://t.co/PPs9K0xwp4 pic.twitter.com/JfjCqfCeBY
— HLN (@HLNTV) December 2, 2021
“He wants me to attack him, but he wanted me to pull the punch so I don’t hurt him, give him a bruise,” Osundairo added.
The final part of the plan was for him to pour bleach on Smollett and run away.
“Who was in charge of this thing?” Special Prosecutor Daniel Webb asked.
“Jussie was,” Osundairo told the jury.
Osundairo said Smollett wrote him a $3,500 check as payment for the staged attack.
Then-Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson laid into Smollett at a news conference in February 2019, weeks after the incident.
Johnson accused the actor of faking the whole thing in an attempt to raise his public profile and get paid more for his television role.
“This stunt was orchestrated by Smollett because he was dissatisfied with his salary, so he concocted a story about being attacked.”
“Empire” actor Jussie Smollett staged the alleged attack because he was “dissatisfied with his salary,” Chicago police superintendent Eddie Johnson says https://t.co/wUehx4GFlq pic.twitter.com/z0ZXnrTiCo
— CNN (@CNN) February 21, 2019
Smollett’s chickens appear to be coming home to roost.
He has pleaded not guilty, but the evidence against him is mounting.
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