In the upcoming Fox Nation documentary regarding Jussie Smollett's hate crime hoax, the Osundairo brothers are set to re-enact how they partook in staging the racist and homophobic hate crime attack on the actor/director back in 2019.
via Page Six:
Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo claim the morning they prepared to allegedly help actor Jussie Smollett stage a racist and homophobic attack against himself in 2019, he didn’t show up on time.
“We made sure we got there at 2 a.m. sharp. We had no phones because he did not want us to bring any phones,” Abimbola alleged.
“So 2 a.m., he was nowhere to be found. He was not there, so we were like, ‘Damn, what do we do?’ We didn’t have no way of contacting him. He had no way of contacting us. So we waited here for about … four minutes.”
Olabinjo chimed in: “But it felt like forever.”
“Because it was cold as b—s. So I saw him out the corner of my eye,” Abimbola recalled. “And I was like, ‘OK, that’s him. Let’s go.'”
The Osundairo brothers returned to the posh Chicago block for the first time since that chilly January 2019 morning for the five-part docuseries “Jussie Smollett: Anatomy of a Hoax,” streaming Monday on FOX Nation.
In their first extensive interview since testifying at Smollett’s trial in 2021, the brothers share “exclusive” details of their alleged roles in the made-for-TV drama that captured international headlines for years. Their attorney, Gloria V. Rodriguez, is listed as an executive producer of the docuseries.
“As we cross the street, we said, ‘Hey,’ to get his attention. ‘Hey, n – -.’ He turned around, looked at us, and that’s when we started yelling the famous slurs he wanted us to yell. ‘Hey, aren’t you that ‘Empire’ f – – t?'” the Osundairo brothers claimed to the camera crew in tow.
“We started tussling, moving around, and then I pull him to the ground,” Abimbola said of Smollett, 40. “He wanted it to look like he fought back. That was very important for him because he said, ‘Hey, don’t just beat my ass. Make it look like I’m fighting back and whatnot.'”
Smollett — who has long proclaimed his innocence — didn’t participate in the project, which arrives nearly two weeks after he filed an appeal challenging his 2021 disorderly conduct conviction and requesting a new trial.
The Post reached out to a Smollett attorney for comment.
The FOX Nation special rehashes the rise and fall of the openly gay actor, who had been starring in the hit FOX drama “Empire” — which followed the exploits of a cutthroat music mogul and his talented family — for four years at the time of the incident.
Abimbola alleges Smollett didn’t provide a specific motive, but wanted to be the “poster boy for activism.” The brothers claim Smollett walked them through the plans and accompanied them to the site beforehand.
Abimbola said he remarked afterward, “Yo, this Hollywood s–t is crazy. And this dude, wow, I don’t know what the hell he’s on. But, s–t, we’re part of it now. Now it’s time to, you know, carry on and follow through with it.”
Smollett reported being assaulted while walking back to his high-rise from a Subway restaurant. He said his attackers yelled slurs at him, declared Chicago is “MAGA country,” hit him, poured a chemical substance on him and hung a noose around his neck.
As police continued to investigate, Smollett sat down with “Good Morning America” co-anchor Robin Roberts to share his version of the confrontation two weeks later.
He said without “any doubt in my mind” the surveillance image that police released of two persons of interest in dark clothes were the so-called perpetrators.
Eddie Johnson — who served as Chicago police superintendent from 2016 to 2019 — admitted in the docuseries that police actually had a “better photo” of the suspects than the grainy one they initially shared, but feared inciting “angst” among Chicago’s black and gay community.
“So now in full disclosure, I can say this, the reason why we wouldn’t let them put it out was because it did have a … red baseball cap,” Johnson, 62, explained of the photo. The red hat was allegedly worn to suggest ties to the “Make America Great Again” campaign theme.
“I didn’t want people to focus on that because it would cause more angst. So now that next day when everybody finds out about it, do you think we would have had some issues in the city? Yeah, we would have.”
Within days, police determined the men were the Osundairo brothers, small-time actors who had worked as background players on “Empire.” Officers met them at O’Hare International Airport when they returned from a trip to Nigeria.
In the docuseries, the brothers said they were “100%” believable as white supremacist characters. But Abimbola recalled the uneasy feelings he experienced on the plane while replaying in his mind the information police had released to the media about the case.
“Two big ass police officers came up. I went with them. I was like, ‘Damn, it’s over with. They got me,'” Abimbola described of arriving at the Chicago airport.
“It was like a movie itself,” Olabinjo said.
The brothers eventually decided to cooperate with police, and Smollett was hit with 16 felony counts of disorderly conduct for making a false report. He was accused of orchestrating a phony hoax to boost his music and acting career as “Empire” waned in popularity.
But in a shocking move, less than three weeks later, the charges were dropped by Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s office after Smollett performed community service and forfeited his $10,000 bond to the city of Chicago.
Johnson said in the docuseries that he was at a police recruit and promotion ceremony with then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel when he heard the surprising development.
“He was like, ‘Supe, how the f – – k did this s – – t happen?'” Johnson recalled of Emanuel’s alleged response to the news. “He said, ‘I know [Foxx] and I don’t have the best relationship, but you and her talk all the time. Did you know?’ And I said, ‘I didn’t have a clue.'”
The Post reached out to a rep for Emanuel, now the US ambassador to Japan, for comment.
Smollett held a brief press briefing after the charges were officially dropped. Johnson accused Smollett of “gloating” in his remarks, which “reinvigorated everybody.”
“After I saw that press conference, I called the mayor. I said, ‘You know what? Game on,'” Johnson remembered in the docuseries.
Foxx, 50, had recused herself from the investigation after it surfaced she had been in touch with Smollett’s family. Those interviewed for the FOX Nation special speculated about political and celebrity motivations behind her office’s handling of the case.
“In the beginning, [Foxx and I] were in lockstep with this thing. I do think, however, something occurred. Now what that something is, I really couldn’t say,” Johnson said in the docuseries, before adding, “What those reasons are, I don’t think we’ll ever really know.”
Foxx did not participate in the project. A spokesperson told The Post her office “is not aware of a request from Fox Nation to participate in a documentary regarding Jussie Smollett. Additionally, we are unable to comment on this matter as it remains pending litigation being handled by a special prosecutor.”
Communication between the production team and the state’s attorney’s office show Foxx was aware of the project, but declined to be interviewed.
I'm so over this conversation regarding this hoax. I truly believe what happened was that Jussie was getting all these death threats because he's an openly gay actor playing a queer character on TV.
With all the vitriol The Last of Us is currently receiving because they're telling stories featuring queer characters, the trolls flooded Fox with hate mail because they didn't like seeing gay characters being shoved down their throats on Empire.
Jussie felt at the time the studio should have done something about the hate mail (like getting the FBI involved), but since he felt the studio wasn't doing anything to address the problem, he became "the gay Tupac" and took matters into his own hands.
Now am I excusing his behavoir? No I'm not. I don't think it's right that he concocted this ruse in order to bring attention to the racist and homophobic vitriol he received from online trolls.
But people getting more upset over a lie instead of also reprimanding the Chicago police and judicial system for singling him out specifically because a celebrity got one over on them isn't right either.
Plus how many Karen's have gotten over by lying to the police regarding discrimination from POC?
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