{"id":1091379,"date":"2021-12-06T19:47:22","date_gmt":"2021-12-07T00:47:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1091379"},"modified":"2021-12-06T19:47:37","modified_gmt":"2021-12-07T00:47:37","slug":"jussie-smollett-under-oath-there-was-no-hoax","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/jussie-smollett-under-oath-there-was-no-hoax\/","title":{"rendered":"Jussie Smollett Under Oath: &#039;There was No Hoax&#039;"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fjussie-smollett-under-oath-there-was-no-hoax%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1091379&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/PoliceSmollett1.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<h2>CHICAGO (AP) \u2014 Former \u201cEmpire\u201d actor Jussie Smollett denied Monday that he staged an anti-gay, racist attack on himself in downtown Chicago, testifying at his trial that \u201cthere was no hoax.\u201d<\/h2>\n<p class=\"Component-root-0-2-61 Component-p-0-2-52\">Jussie Smollett <a class href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/jussie-smollett-entertainment-arts-and-entertainment-crime-chicago-eb787489c4e1fa17a12dff35eba13033\">took the witness stand<\/a> Monday at his trial <a class href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/jussie-smollett-trial-chicago-charges-d5f6081f7755b841a878952889d29feb\">on charges<\/a> of staging a racist, anti-gay attack on himself and lying to Chicago police about it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Component-root-0-2-61 Component-p-0-2-52\">The actor who starred on the TV show \u201cEmpire\u201d is expected to share his account of <a class href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/jussie-smollett-trial-key-moments-901588ec2b755a0b641924270f92421d\">what happened<\/a> in January 2019 in an attempt to refute damaging testimony from <a class href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/entertainment-arts-and-entertainment-crime-chicago-hate-crimes-6650652906e528cd4a8bf9032ea370e1\">two brothers<\/a> who testified last week. They said Smollett, who is gay and Black, orchestrated the hoax to get publicity, giving them $100 for supplies and instructing them to place a noose around his neck and yell homophobic slurs. They also said Smollett paid them $3,500 to carry it out.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p class=\"Component-root-0-2-61 Component-p-0-2-52\">Defense attorneys have suggested the brothers, who are Black, were motivated to accuse Smollett of staging the hoax because they disliked him and then saw an opportunity to make money. They suggested that after the brothers, <a class href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/jussie-smollett-entertainment-arts-and-entertainment-chicago-abimbola-osundairo-dda16360a86682a33ef2edf0aadfd24e\">Abimbola and Olabingo Osundairo<\/a>, were questioned by police about the alleged attack, they asked Smollett for $1 million each to not testify against him at trial.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Component-root-0-2-61 Component-p-0-2-52\">Smollett\u2019s lawyers also have argued that Chicago police rushed to judgment when they brought charges against Smollett, and suggested a third person may have been involved in the attack.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Component-root-0-2-61 Component-p-0-2-52\">On the witness stand Monday, Smollett told the jury how he grew up in a close-knit family of six children and started performing as a child actor before getting more into music. He said he \u201ccame to terms with my sexuality\u201d in his early 20s, when he got involved in charity organizations, including a group that fights AIDS in the Black community.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p class=\"Component-root-0-2-61 Component-p-0-2-52\">He said he auditioned for a role on \u201cEmpire\u201d of a singer who is gay because he had never seen a Black man portrayed that way. By season five, Smollett said he was being paid $100,000 per episode.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Component-root-0-2-61 Component-p-0-2-52\">Smollett said he met Abimbola Osundairo in 2017 at a club, where he learned Osundairo also worked on the set of \u201cEmpire.\u201d He said the two men did drugs together and went to a bathhouse, where Smollett said they \u201cmade out.\u201d Over time, he said the two men did more drugs together and participated in sex acts together. Osundairo testified last week that he and Smollett didn\u2019t have a sexual relationship.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Component-root-0-2-61 Component-p-0-2-52\">Smollett testified that he met Abimbola\u2019s brother, Olabingo, but that they didn\u2019t speak and \u201che kind of freaked me out.\u201d He said Abimbola Osundairo made it seem like the men needed to \u201csneak off\u201d when they were together around his brother. Smollett said he never trusted Olabingo Osundairo.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Component-root-0-2-61 Component-p-0-2-52\">Prosecutors say Smollett <a class href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/jussie-smollett-entertainment-arts-and-entertainment-chicago-abimbola-osundairo-dda16360a86682a33ef2edf0aadfd24e\">staged the attack<\/a> because he was unhappy with the \u201cEmpire\u201d studio\u2019s response to hate mail he received. The letter including a drawing of a stick figure hanging by a noose, with a gun pointed at it, and the word \u201cMAGA\u201d \u2014 an apparent reference to then-President Donald Trump\u2019s slogan, \u201cMake America Great Again.\u201d The Osundairo brothers testified that Smollett told them to yell \u201cthis is MAGA country\u201d during the fake assault.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Component-root-0-2-61 Component-p-0-2-52\">Brett Mahoney, who produced \u201cEmpire\u201d in Chicago, testified earlier Monday that Smollett called him after the hate mail was sent to the set.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Component-root-0-2-61 Component-p-0-2-52\">\u201cWe were obviously all very upset about the letter,\u201d Mahoney said, adding that law enforcement was contacted and the letter turned over to authorities. He said Smollett agreed to added on-set security, but didn\u2019t want anyone following him home because he felt it was too intrusive.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Component-root-0-2-61 Component-p-0-2-52\">Also Monday, security guard Anthony Moore said that around the time of the alleged assault, he saw a person on the ground at the end of the block and two men running, one of whom was white. Moore said he told police what he saw, but when he was later questioned by the special prosecutor he felt pressured to change his story. Moore testified that he signed a statement that said the person was \u201cpossibly\u201d a Black man, but that he felt \u201cpressure and threatened to put something out there that I didn\u2019t see.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Component-root-0-2-61 Component-p-0-2-52\">Under cross-examination, Moore said he only saw the man for one to two seconds. He also said he thought the men were fooling around, and that the two men were laughing as they ran by him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Component-root-0-2-61 Component-p-0-2-52\">Smollett, 39, <a class href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/jussie-smollett-trial-chicago-charges-d5f6081f7755b841a878952889d29feb\">is charged with six counts of felony disorderly conduct <\/a>for making what prosecutors say was a false police report about the alleged attack \u2014 one count for each time he gave a report \u2014 to three different officers. The class 4 felony carries a prison sentence of up to three years, but experts have said if Smollett is convicted he likely would be placed on probation and ordered to perform community service.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CHICAGO (AP) \u2014 Former \u201cEmpire\u201d actor Jussie Smollett denied Monday that he staged an anti-gay, racist attack on himself in downtown Chicago, testifying at his trial that \u201cthere was &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1091379","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1091379","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1091379"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1091379\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1091379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1091379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1091379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}