Is anyone following this story? I have liked him since he was in the mighty ducks movie back in the 1990s and although I am way behind I have watched earlier seasons of Empire. I just can't make any sense of this story at all. There seems to be a pattern that rich/famous people do really bizarre things and destroy their own careers. 
https://www.cnn.com/entertainment/live-news/jussie-smollett-arrested-chicago/index.html
pomegranate / 3973 posts
I've been following along, I'm really curious what his motivation was for staging the whole thing!
eggplant / 11716 posts
yeah, it's weird. And it sucks on a deeper level because a whole lot of racists are coming out of the woodwork to say "See! It's always made up!". ugh
pear / 1677 posts
I always found it bizarre from the beginning, but really wanted to believe him. Now I don’t know what to think!
pomegranate / 3809 posts
I just don't understand what the point of doing this would be!! Why chance something like that.
persimmon / 1023 posts
I read an article yesterday talking about the psychology around these types of incidents. I can’t find it but it was similar to those who fake cancer for attention, etc. So there could be a mental health issue at play. In this case, it’s just so disheartening. This really hurts both the African American community and LGBTQ communities who truly do face violence and hatred on a regular basis. I cannot imagine how he didn’t think he would get caught! And to go on interviews and straight up lie. I have to think there’s a psychological issue at play.
grapefruit / 4361 posts
Yeah I have been so bummed that he chose to do this. Ruined his career and emboldened racists / homophobic people.
pomegranate / 3355 posts
It really makes no sense at all. It's not like he needed a career pick me up or anything. I agree @muffinsmuffins: there must be a psychological issue at play....
wonderful pea / 17279 posts
From the beginning the story seemed a little weird because of the perfect timing piece that was involved. Didn’t he say he just got back into town from the airport when all this occurred?
Anyway, there’s enough bad stuff going on that fake allegations really hurt credible stories of violence and injustice. I bet this will hurt his sister’s career too since she’s probably going to always stick up for her brother’s story.
squash / 13199 posts
Yes I totally agree with you all. Hoax allegations hurt people who have really suffered from hate crimes. And the same is true for sexual assault and rape. People seem to default to not believing victims for this very reason.
I saw an update from NYT that he was dissatisfied with his salary and that caused him to stage the attack.
nectarine / 2461 posts
I have zero sympathy that he’s ruined his career. Introducing doubt to the credibility of real victims of racism and homophobia is the lowest of the low.
@muffinsmuffins: @Ajsmommy: I think it’s pretty generous and good-hearted of you to conclude there might be a psychological issue at play. My curmudgeon response, especially reading that he wanted more money and that ratings were slipping, is that he’s a disingenuous asshole liar whose motivations are informed by straight-up bad character, not mental illness.
honeydew / 7622 posts
When I saw naysayers at first I was really unhappy. Then I remembered my new wait and see attitude about any inflammatory news and here we are.... I’m glad the police did their job. If anything it pisses me off that there was an assumption that law enforcement would be too dumb to figure it out.
grapefruit / 4492 posts
@youboots: unfortunately in today's climate, especially in such a large city, it's not so much if LEO will figure it out and more if they'll be allowed to do anything about it depending on the politics of the current chief🤦♀️
But yes, the initial plan to do something like that and assume cops won't figure it out. 🙄
persimmon / 1023 posts
@LCTBQE: ha fair enough. I’m definitely not trying to defend or absolve him at all. I guess my logic is that it’s literally the dumbest plan that a rich, well known and loved person could hatch up so there HAS to be because he isn’t in a good mental state. He paid these guys with a check?! Assumed the police would just take him at his word and not investigate with the heinous details he reported?! Probably has faced racism and homophobia personally and thought a false story would further that cause?! I dunno, it could totally be what you’re saying and he’s literally just a total asshole horrible person! I’m super angry/disappointed/etc at him and hope he faces punishment for it no matter what the reason behind it.
nectarine / 2461 posts
@muffinsmuffins: no doubt at all that every gay person has faced homophobia and every black person has faced racism and I’m sure he has—but pretty sickening how clearly he tried to exploit sympathy for himself. People *are* that stupid and evil sometimes, it’s probably every criminal defense attorney’s dream that stupidity and greed could fall under the umbrella of mental illness. But IMO, he’s just another celebrity sack of shit 
and the check payment detail is priceless.
apricot / 370 posts
What a stupid thing to do.
I'm bristling at the tone of the coverage though because he is black and gay. I know there's the reality of real victims of actual crimes facing disbelief, but he is not every black man and he is not every gay man. Every time there's a white male shooter, we don't hear anything about how he's ruining it for all the loner white males. We don't live in this world, but I wish it could be more reporting on the individual than holding him up as representative of any minority group.
squash / 13199 posts
@shabang: yes! I hate it that people use one bad example as an indication that all black men are liars or all gay people are this/ that. Can each person just be an individual judged on their own actions and merit?
squash / 13199 posts
@muffinsmuffins: yeah none of it makes any sense. My thought is that all the time spent acting for a career maybe made him lose his sense of reality and accountability. Actors arw basically professional liars. They literally get paid to pretend to be someone else and maybe the lines got blurred for him.
wonderful pea / 17279 posts
@shabang: different set of rules. Any hint of bad character with one POC paints the entire group with the same, wide brush. What Jussie did is devastating for that reason and as a person who has been both gay and black all his life he knows better.
grapefruit / 4455 posts
I think it's all just bizarre and I feel like I'm missing something here, whether it's some kind of mental illness or more to the story that may never come out, I just don't know.
As far as the significance of it, all I've heard in my circle is how disappointed people were. At this point I feel like most people believe what they believe about the social issues involved so even if it gives some people a talking point I don't think it changes all that much.
nectarine / 2220 posts
@shabang: Agree. When Ryan Lochte falsely reported being mugged so he wouldn't have to tell the Olympic committee that he got in a fight, nobody started questioning the motives of all young white males who report crimes.
blogger / pear / 1509 posts
I think it's telling that we (not just here, but the media, etc.) are talking more about the Jussie Smollett case than the Paul Hasson case. Perfect example of POC living under a totally different set of rules, like @Mrs. Lemon-Lime: said.
olive / 53 posts
Hmm. Now the FBI is saying Chicago PD may have rushed the investigation. Forgive the link to TMZ, it's late.
http://m.tmz.com/#!2019/02/22/jussie-smollett-letter-police-chief-superintendent-fbi/
squash / 13199 posts
@Sapphiresun: so true! Its sad how blatant the double standards are.
@Dynamite: wow hopefully they don't fumble the case due to all thr attention. The police chief definitely seems to be personally annoyed with the case which can lead him to make silly mistakes or lead to oversharing info to the media
olive / 53 posts
@Mrsbells: it plays to all my biases to not believe the police, so I'm holding out hope that Smollet didn't instigate the attack.
squash / 13199 posts
@Dynamite: The more details we get the more bizarre it seems! I wish he would come out and explain the inconsistencies with the story
pomegranate / 3973 posts
Thoughts on the latest?
https://www.cbsnews.com/live-news/jussie-smollett-in-court-today-emergency-court-appearance-live-updates-2019-03-26/?ftag=CNM-00-10aab8a&linkId=65301242
I can't help but compare it to the college admissions scandal... who you know / how much money you have. I'm sure this happens way more often than we know about.
pomelo / 5257 posts
@josina: I don't really know what did or didn't happen, but 16 felony counts was ludicrously excessive. Each one of those came with up to four years in prison. Meanwhile people get off with less or even nothing for literally killing someone.
pomegranate / 3973 posts
@MrsSCB: I can agree with that, and I can get behind the idea that he didn't need to do prison time, as he's not a danger to anyone. I think what bugs me is that he can now continue to claim he was innocent and all evidence against him is sealed. It just seems like a waste to all the police investigation that went into it.
pomelo / 5257 posts
@josina: Yeah, it does seem like a waste -- I bring up the excessiveness because it makes me wonder if they had regret and realized that the degree of the charges wasn't exactly great for the already tenuous relationship Chicago PD has with a lot of the city's residents. Maybe that factored into them dropping it altogether. But if they'd started from a more reasonable place, perhaps they would have proceeded? I honestly don't know much about the logistics of all of this, just something I was thinking about.
olive / 53 posts
I thought I couldn't dislike Rahm any more. I was wrong.
Sounds like the case against Smollet was pretty flimsy to me.
squash / 13199 posts
@josina: I really don't understand the secrecy. Al of a sudden the case file has been sealed. I also wonder why the fact that he was willing to forfeit his bond/ bail should be a factor. It definitely feels like his money played a role in this.
But I also agree that they overcharged him to begin with. The whole thing leaves a bad taste in my mouth
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