By KAYLA DEMICCO
Opinion Editor
What started as a “possible” hate crime has now unfolded into a possible massive hoax.
It was reported on Jan. 29 that Jussie Smollett, (plays Jamal Lyon) a cast member of FOX’s hit television show, Empire, had been brutally attacked by two men in Chicago at two in the morning as he was going to a Subway restaurant by himself. Police reports said that the attackers were shouting racial and homophobic slurs on him, doused with chemical substances on his body, put a rope around his neck and left him with multiple injuries as he tried to fight back. He was sent to Northwestern Memorial Hospital for recovery. The description of the attackers were white men wearing ski masks and they were apparently yelling, “This is MAGA country!” during the attack.
At that point in time, Smollett was the victim and millions of messages of love, support, prayers and sympathy were being sent his way. It baffled me, why something of that nature was being considered a “possible” hate crime. A hate crime is defined as “a crime, typically one involving violence, that is motivated by prejudice on the basis of race, religion, sexual orientation, or other grounds.” That is exactly what the incident was considered at the time.
As someone who was a fan of Empire, I didn’t want to believe that people were still committing violent hate crimes in 2019. I know with the “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) movement, Trump supporters have been very violent on the Internet and in real life, but those stories don’t go viral as this one did.
Co-star Taraji P. Henson (plays his mother on Empire, Cookie Lyon), said on Instagram after the news broke, “I wish what happened to my baby was just one big bad joke but it wasn’t and we all feel his pain right now. @jussiesmollett is pure love to the bone AND THAT IS WHY SO MANY ARE FEELING HIS PAIN BECAUSE IT IS OUR PAIN!!! I tell you one thing HATE WILL NOT WIN!!!! My baby is resilient and love still lives in him. The devil and his minions are very busy right now but one thing is for sure and two things are for certain #GODIS and that is all I know. […] The love so many have for him just goes to show HE IS LOVE!!!! I LOVE YOU MY BABY MY BABY!!! #LOVEWINSALWAYS.”
Kevin Hart sent his prayers to Smollett and said, “This is unbelievably sad. Why are we going backwards….this is disgusting. We as people have to do better. WTF is going on the world???? Why are we falling in love with hate???? God damn it people….Choose love…I repeat…Choose love. I will forever choose love and I will continue to teach my kids how to do the same. Stand strong brother.”
“Who the f**k would make something like this up or add something to it?… You do such a disservice when you lie about things like this,” Smollett said on Good Morning America on Feb. 14, which was his first interview since the attack.
Many people were quick to take his side but over the course of the February, this case got more complicated than expected and people began to get skeptical.
New information was found by police to suggest that Smollett had staged the attack. His own attack. Apparently he had paid the attackers, who turned out to be two brothers from Nigeria that played small roles on Empire in an earlier season, to help him fake the incident.
The Chicago police have done heavy investigation in this case and have found evidence to prove the connections between Smollett and the two brothers that led to them staging the attack such as the car service they used, their cellphones, conversations between them, and checks made out to the brothers.
On Feb. 21, multiple news sources broke the news that Smollett had turned himself into police custody after he was accused for filing a false report. The reasoning behind him faking it is speculated to be because he was unsatisfied with how much he was being paid on the show, hoping to get a raise.
“In his wake, he has screwed over everyone… Members of the gay community are emotionally terrorized over something that turned out to be a hoax. Trump supporters are upset about being falsely accused and Democrat candidates are tying themselves into knots trying to walk their initial statements calling this a modern day lynching. Nobody won in this,” said comedian, Trevor Noah.
Terrence Howard (plays his father on Empire, Lucious Lyon) took Smollett’s side by saying, “The Jussie I know could never even conceive of something so unconscious and ugly. His innocence or judgment is not for any of us to decide. Stay in your lane and my lane is empathy and love and compassion for someone I’ve called my son for five years. It’s God’s job to judge and it’s ours to love and hope, especially for those that we claim to have loved.”
While I don’t want to believe that people are still capable of committing violent hate crimes in 2019, I want to believe that Smollett is innocent. I don’t want to think that he would purposely ruin the reputation of the LGBTQ+ and Black community.
What is going to happen if more hate crimes actually do happen? Will the public think they are lying? Will more people stage their own attacks or purposely put themselves in harms way to try to get personal gain?
