Last week, United States actor Jussie Smollett was sentenced to 150 days in prison after being found guilty of lying to the police about being a victim of a racist and homophobic hate crime.
The 150 days is part of a total of 30 months on probation, and the actor must repay $120,106 to the Chicago Police to cover their investigation costs.
In January 2019, the former star of the show Empire hired two acquaintances who were brothers named Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo. Smollett paid $3,500 to the two men and staged an assault against him in Chicago. According to the actor, the two men were Donald Trump supporters and were all masked up. When the incident occurred, it had caused widespread concern through a country that still experiences racial and sexual discrimination. The actor had at the time received support from those in political and cultural arenas, but after finding out that this incident had been staged, this support has turned into criticism. Chicago Judge James Linn said that Smollett had craved attention and had a streak that was “profoundly arrogant and selfish and narcissistic.”
Despite receiving his jail sentence, Smollett still believes in his innocence. He has gone to the extent of saying that he was sentenced to jail because he was black. Smollett’s lawyers are trying to find ways to get the actor out of prison early and have asked for more leniency. After spending a few nights in jail, reports say that the actor is worried he will catch covid and is concerned about his mental health. The actor’s family has issued an emergency motion in the appellate court, claiming he should never have been convicted.
Jussie Smollett is known for three things: an actor, a singer and now a meme.
Notwithstanding it being reported that the actor’s health is at risk, which should be of concern, the way the former Empire star has behaved during and after his trial, is outright ridiculous.
Hiring two people to stage a hate crime is not only a complete disrespect to actual victims of hate-related attacks but also a big waste of time to the police and me writing this piece.
This case shows that celebrities like Jussie think they live in a video game where you can do whatever you want and have no consequences for their actions. However, this is the real world, and when you commit a crime like wasting police time, you will face the hammer of the law. But even when Jussie is facing jail time, he thinks he should be treated differently from everyone else because of his so-called popularity in a cringe-worthy television show called Empire. He is trying to use covid and various other excuses as a get out of jail card, like what you find playing Monopoly. And what doesn’t help is that his family and those close around him support his soap opera. But what Jussie and his supporters don’t realise is that he is acting like a victim.
He is throwing his toys out of his pram whilst using his “acting skills” to try and fool us and have us feeling sorry for him.
Thankfully, the judges assessing this case weren’t fooled by this and have made the right decision.
What was going through Jussie’s head is still beyond all of us, and we may never know why he would be so stupid in trying to fake a hate crime.
