Empire star Jussie Smollett claims that two men attacked him in Streeterville early Jan. 29 as he was heading to his apartment. He said they yelled racial and homophobic slurs at him, yelled “this is MAGA country,” poured a chemical on him and put a rope around his neck.
But, this is not how it went down at all.
Jussie Smollett paid two Nigerian brothers – Abimbola ‘Abel’ and Olabinjo ‘Ola’ Osundairo. – to stage an attack against him. Smollett directed them to buy items used in the alleged assault and actually rehearsed it with them, sources say.
At least one of the brothers bought the rope used in the incident at Smollett’s request. The sources also say the “Empire” actor paid for the rope, which was purchased at the Crafty Beaver Hardware Store in the Ravenswood neighborhood the weekend of Jan. 25.
Abimbola ‘Abel’ and Olabinjo ‘Ola’ Osundairo, were questioned by police this week before being released. They said they were paid $3,500 by Smollett before jetting off to Nigeria and were promised an additional $500 when they got back to the US.
The brothers left for Nigeria later in the day on Jan. 29, after the alleged attack.
Sources said one of the brothers held the rope and poured bleach while the other wore a plain red hat and yelled racial slurs at Jussie Smollett.
After police raided the brother’s home, Police left behind an inventory list. Some of the items seized include a black face mask hat, an Empire script, phone, receipts, a red hat and bleach.
The sources also say the red hat
The two brothers are now cooperating with Chicago police.
Since being released on Friday night, the Nigerian brothers have been staying in an undisclosed location.
Chicago police spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said:
“We can confirm that the information received from the individuals questioned by police earlier in the Empire case has
in fact shifted the trajectory of the investigation. We’ve reached out to the Empire cast member’s attorney to request a follow-up interview.”
CBS 2’s Brad Edwards reported pn Thursday that a source with intimate knowledge of the investigation said investigators believe Jussie Smollett “potentially staged the attack.”
So there it is, the truth. Let’s stop dancing around this situation and call it what it is…a hate hoax.
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