Joe Biden helped perpetuate the Jussie Smollett hate crime hoax five years ago
The Infamous Jussie Smollett Hoax: A Lesson in Deception
Monday marked the five-year anniversary of President Joe Biden’s online condemnation of a “hate crime” that never happened.
On Jan. 29, 2019, ”Empire” actor Jussie Smollett, who is black and gay, made national headlines with claims a pair of white supremacist Trump supporters violently attacked him. The actor said his assailants screamed, “This is MAGA country!” in the apparently far-right city of Chicago.
“I will never be the man this did not happen to,” Smollett told ABC News in an interview with Robin Roberts two weeks later. By December 2021, Smollett was convicted on five out of six charges over staging a fake attack. As it turns out, Smollett hired a pair of Nigerian brothers to help him carry out the hate crime hoax.
I’ll never get over Smollett telling Robin Roberts, “I will never be the man that this did not happen to.”
💀💀💀
— Kylee Griswold (like the family vacation) (@kyleezempel) December 10, 2021
Eager to exploit the episode as an example of America’s systemic, virulent discrimination illustrating the country’s irredeemable racism and homophobia, Biden got swept up in the controversy along with the rest of the corporate press.
READ: Falling For Racist Hoaxes Is A Symptom Of Self-Loathing
“What happened today to @JussieSmollett must never be tolerated in this country,” Biden wrote on Twitter, now known as X. “We must stand up and demand that we no longer give this hate safe harbor; that homophobia and racism have no place on our streets or in our hearts.”
What happened today to @JussieSmollett must never be tolerated in this country. We must stand up and demand that we no longer give this hate safe harbor; that homophobia and racism have no place on our streets or in our hearts. We are with you, Jussie. https://t.co/o8ilPu68CM
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) January 30, 2019
Another post from Vice President Kamala Harris also remains online.
“@JussieSmollett is one of the kindest, most gentle human beings I know,” then-California Senator Harris said. “This was an attempted modern day lynching. No one should have to fear for their life because of their sexuality or color of their skin. We must confront this hate.”
.@JussieSmollett is one of the kindest, most gentle human beings I know. I’m praying for his quick recovery.
This was an attempted modern day lynching. No one should have to fear for their life because of their sexuality or color of their skin. We must confront this hate.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) January 29, 2019
Despite Smollet being found guilty more than two years ago, the Black Lives Matter organization continued to support the disgraced actor as a victim of “injustice.”
“In an abolitionist society, this trial would not be taking place, and our communities would not have to fight and suffer to prove our worth,” the organization wrote in a statement during the criminal trial.
RELATED: Jussie Smollett’s Black, Gay, And Anti-Trump Privilege Continues To Save Him
Smollett was convicted in March 2022, but an Illinois appeals court ordered his release after just six days behind bars. In December 2023, the court upheld Smollet’s conviction in a 2-1 decision. The actor was ordered to pay a $25,000 fine plus more than $120,000 in restitution to Chicago and serve a 150-day jail sentence.
Tristan Justice is the western correspondent for The Federalist and the author of Social Justice Redux, a conservative newsletter on culture, health, and wellness. He has also written for The Washington Examiner and The Daily Signal. His work has also been featured in Real Clear Politics and Fox News. Tristan graduated from George Washington University where he majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow him on Twitter at @JusticeTristan or contact him at [email protected]. Sign up for Tristan’s email newsletter here.
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