Actor Jussie Smollett finally went on trial this week for faking a hate crime in Chicago way back in 2019. Let’s put a little bow on that news story, which you probably remember well.
Smollett faces six felony charges for what he did. He could spend three years in prison if he’s convicted on all of them. Smollett’s lawyers have argued hilariously that he is “the real victim in this story.†But of course, no sober person on the planet believes that. Jussie Smollett definitely faked a hate crime.
The question is – how did anyone, anywhere, ever fall for this story, even for a moment? Looking back, in retrospect, it was maybe the most obvious hoax ever perpetrated. And in case you’ve forgotten the details of them, I’d like to savor them tonight.
Smollett claimed that he left his apartment in Chicago alone one freezing January night at 2 a.m. to pick up a Subway sandwich, something that no one who isn’t homeless has ever done. As he walked down the street, two White men approached him and began screaming in his face for being Black and gay. Because of course, you’re not allowed to be either one of those things in the city of Chicago. They called him the N-word. They punched him in the face. They poured a chemical onto his body. Then, needless to say, they wrapped a noose around his neck because, you know, Chicago. They didn’t bother to rob him. Their motives were purely political: “This is MAGA country,†they screamed about a city that voted more than 83% for Hillary Clinton. |