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        <title><![CDATA[Jussie Smollett speaks out against case, says charges are ‘bullsh-t’]]></title>
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            <media:title type="html">Jussie Smollett speaks out against case, says charges are ‘bullsh-t’</media:title>
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        <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Jussie Smollett has spoken out for the first time in nearly two years &#8212; insisting he’s innocent and the case against him is “bulls&#8211;t.”</p><p>Smollett, <strong>accused of</strong> staging a racist and homophobic hate crime against himself, spoke with BET News host and former CNN commentator Marc Lamont Hill on an <strong>Instagram Live session</strong> Wednesday evening about the six felony charges he’s facing and a criminal justice system that can’t seem to “let this go.”</p><p>“There is an example being made,” Smollett told Hill, <strong>according to Fox</strong>. “And the sad part is that there is an example being made of someone that did not do what they’re being accused of.”</p><p>The former “Empire” actor insisted there are witnesses who back up his <strong>original claim</strong> that two white men, shouting racist and homophobic slurs, attacked him in Chicago before dousing him with bleach and throwing a noose around his neck on a frigid January night in 2019.</p><figure id="attachment_5376828"  class="wp-caption alignnone aligncenter"><strong><noscript><img data- data-src="/uploads/2020/09/Jussie-Smollett-01.jpg" class="lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img  data-src="/uploads/2020/09/Jussie-Smollett-01.jpg" /></noscript></noscript><img class="lazyload" src='data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22%20viewBox=%220%200%20210%20140%22%3E%3C/svg%3E' data- data-src="/uploads/2020/09/Jussie-Smollett-01.jpg" /></strong><figcaption class="wp-caption-text"><span>Jussie Smollett</span><span class="credit">AP</span></figcaption></figure><p>He said a narrative was “intentionally created” to make it appear as if he was lying, and the Chicago Police Department’s investigation against him is a “farce.”</p><p>“These are the things that people don’t necessarily know because the lies and the things that were not true were yelled from the rooftop,” Smollett said. “There is a tape &#8230; there is something, but of course it cuts off right before it happens.”</p><p>It’s not clear what tape Smollett was referring to and it’s also unclear which witnesses he claims saw white men attack him.</p><p>Police records previously released on the case show cops only spoke with a single witness who said one of the people running from the alleged crime scene appeared to be white. No other witnesses reported that narrative and there was no video of the alleged attack, police records show.</p><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/tv/CE8F-vJAopZ/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12" ><p><script src="https://platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js" async="async"></script><br /> <strong></p><p><svg width="50px" height="50px" viewBox="0 0 60 60" version="1.1" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g stroke="none" stroke-width="1" fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"><g transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)" fill="#000000"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></p><p> View this post on Instagram</p><p></strong></p><p > <strong>Marc Lamont Hill sits down with Jussie Smollett to discuss his case, police corruption, BLM, and more. First, activists Aislinn Pulley and Angela Davis offer critical insights on the history of policing, abolition, and the broader implications of the Smollett case.</strong></p><p >A post shared by <strong> Marc Lamont Hill</strong> (@marclamonthill) on <time  datetime="2020-09-10T02:18:05+00:00">Sep 9, 2020 at 7:18pm PDT</time></p></blockquote><p>Using the Windy City’s <strong>sprawling surveillance camera system</strong>, taxi cameras and ride-share records, police were able to find only two people who were in the vicinity of the crime scene when the alleged attack happened.</p><p>Those two people were Ola and Abel Osundairo &#8212; two black Nigerian brothers who met Smollett on the set of “Empire” and occasionally purchased drugs for him and offered personal training services.</p><p>When police still believed Smollett to be a victim, the Osundairos were <strong>arrested</strong> and grilled for their involvement. After nearly 48 hours in custody, the brothers told police they were <strong>paid by Smollett</strong> to stage the attack so he could get a pay bump on the set of “Empire.” Soon after, Smollett was arrested and eventually indicted on 16 felonies for filing a false police report.</p><p>The disgraced star said the two brothers “changed their story at the last minute” while police previously said the Osundairos remained uncooperative and silent until finally spilling their alleged version of the attack at the eleventh hour.</p><p>Still, Smollett insisted in the new interview “there would be no reason for me to do something foolish.”</p><p>“I do think that if you look at all of the things that were happening for me, and then for all of the opportunities and all of the money &#8230; whatever, that I have lost at this point, if in fact what they said was true, the smart thing to do would be to admit that. At least there would be a place to work back from. This is bulls—t. It’s bulls—t,” the actor said.</p><p>The original charges against Smollett were <strong>suddenly dropped</strong> last March by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office even though no new evidence was found between the indictment and the dismissal, according to Dan Webb, the special prosecutor assigned to <strong>re-investigate the case</strong> following public outcry.</p><p>Webb brought <strong>new charges</strong> against Smollett this February, this time only six felony counts for filing a false police report, and later found State’s Attorney Kim Foxx engaged in <strong>substantial abuses</strong>&nbsp;in her <strong>handling of the case</strong>.</p><p>Smollett lamented his inability to speak out on the saga during the legal roller-coaster ride he’s been on for the last 19 months, saying he’s not sure how his apparent forced silence has served him.</p><p>“It’s been frustrating, to say the least. It’s been frustrating. It’s been beyond frustrating because to be somebody that’s so outspoken, to be somebody that speaks up for so much and speaks up about so many things, it’s been difficult to kinda be, you know, quiet,” Smollett said.</p><p>“To not be able to say all of the things that you want to say, to not be able to yell from the rooftop because, I don’t think that people realize I’ve just been wrapped up in some form of a case for the last … approaching, in just a couple months, two years,” Smollett went on.</p><p>“So it’s been beyond frustrating, and I think that I’m certainly not going rogue, and I’m still taking the advice of my attorneys and everything like that. I just don’t see, honestly, what staying quiet has done, where it’s gotten me,” he said. “Then there’s the bigger picture that it’s so much bigger than me.”</p><p>He insisted the public should take a closer look at the police and prosecutors involved in the case, claiming there is a financial motivation to “win” &#8212; no matter the cost.</p><p>“You’re willing to throw people under the bus that don’t deserve to be. You’re willing to coax people into lying about saying things happened that did not happen, you’re able to switch a narrative and sell a narrative based on the agenda that you’re trying to sell,” Smollett railed. “That is what’s been happening.”</p>]]></content:encoded>
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