Actor testifies Jussie Smollett asked him to carry out fake hate crime
Global News
Jussie Smollett is charged with six counts of felony disorderly conduct for making what prosecutors say was a false police report.
An aspiring actor testified Wednesday that Jussie Smollett recruited him and his brother to stage a homophobic and racist attack on him in downtown Chicago nearly three years ago, saying the former Empire star even instructed them on how to throw fake punches.
Abimbola Osundairo said Smollett detailed how Osundairo and his brother should carry out the Jan. 29, 2019, hoax. Smollett planned a “dry run” and gave him a $100 bill to buy supplies, Osundairo testified.
Osundairo told jurors Smollett instructed him to punch Smollett but “not too hard.” Once Smollett was on the ground, Osundairo said Smollett said he should give Smollett “a bruise” and “give him a noogie” — or rub his knuckles hard on Smollett’s head.
Osundairo, who worked as a stand-in on Empire, said he and his brother agreed because he felt indebted to Smollett for helping him with his acting career.
Smollett, 39, is charged with six counts of felony disorderly conduct for making what prosecutors say was a false police report — one count for each time he gave a report, 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.
Osundairo testified that he and his brother had difficulty identifying a good spot for the staged attack, walking around in the early morning of that Jan. 29 in weather that Osundairo described as “colder than penguin feet.”
According to Osundario, when the brothers spotted Smollett at around 2 a.m., Osundairo — as instructed earlier by Smollett — shouted a homophobic slur and his brother yelled, “this is MAGA country.” “MAGA” was an apparent reference to then-President Donald Trump’s slogan “Make America Great Again.”
After punching Smollett in the face and throwing the actor to the ground, they put a noose around his neck and threw bleach on him, then ran away, Osundairo told jurors.
