Boy. The jig is up. Even though one juror has gone on the record to say that the entire jury knew immediately that disgraced Empire star Jussie Smollett was guilty of staging a hate crime, he’s still denying it on his end. The juror says that his poor testimony has led to his conviction.
The actor was convicted of five of six charged counts of felony disorderly conduct for making a false police report about a bogus hate crime last week. Here’s what you need to know.
Jussie Smollett Still Denies That He Staged His Own Hate Crime
The jury of six men and six women took nine hours to deliberate, the female anonymous juror said: “It was not evenly split, but there were some doubters,” but that there weren’t any major disagreements at the end of the one-week trial.
The actor contends he was the victim of a racist and homophobic assault in downtown Chicago in January 2019. The siblings, however, who worked with him on the TV show said they were paid to pose as his attackers. The actor said at the time that he thinks he was attacked because he is a very vocal critic of President Donald Trump and his administration.
It was later reported that the men turned out to be extras that have worked with Jussie Smollett on the set of Empire in the past. Nigerian brothers Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo have claimed that Jussie hired them for the stages attack.
With that said though, Jussie still thinks he is innocent. The 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.
This all comes after two brothers claimed that the actor had orchestrated the hoax for publicity. The brothers claimed Smollett gave them $100 for supplies and instructed them to place a noose around his neck and yell homophobic slurs. They also said Smollett gave them a $3,500 carry out the supposed attack.
The actor has denied the claim, saying he wrote the $3,500 check to Abimbola Osundairo for nutrition and training advice. So far Jussie Smollett himself has not made any additional comments, as he awaits his sentencing.
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