Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo have not received the same kind of national attention that as has been afforded to Jussie Smollett over the past month or so. However, if police allegations are accurate, these brothers from Nigeria also played a major role in duping the public just a few weeks ago. And they’re now here to say how very sorry they are for their actions. These siblings have confessed to helping Smollett stage an attack against himself on the streets of Chicago early on the morning of January 29. As you know doubt are aware of by now, the Empire actor told authorities after this incident that two white men assaulted him… tied a rope around his neck… doused him in bleach… and taunted him with racial and homophobic slurs. Smollett went on Good Morning America to share his story, insisting on numerous occasions that this hate crime really did take place. Alas, the Chicago Police Department does not agree. Partly based on interview with the Osundairos, who worked as extras on Empire and who also trained Smollett, they have determined that Smollett ha been lying. And they’ve charged him with falsifying a police report. This is a felony that could land Smollett behind bars for three years. It’s unknown at this time just what legal penalty Abimbola and Olabinjo could pay for pretending to be Smollett’s assailant, but their attorney spoke out on Friday morning and tried to garner some sympathy for her clients. This was her statement: “My clients have tremendous regret over their involvement in this situation, and they understand how it has impacted people across the nation, particularly minority communities and especially those who have been victims of hate crimes themselves.” According to the Chicago Police Department, Smollett paid the Osundairo brothers via check for a “phony attack” in order to take “advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career.” However, new questions have been raised about this payment and also about Smollett’s motives. On the latter front, some believe Smollett was seeking to become a LGBTQ martyr/hero by placing himself in the middle of an assault. On the former front, the check Smollett cut to the siblings has actually been made public. As you can see below, it’s made out to Abimbola and it’s in the amount of $3,500 — but it was written six days before the attack and it listed “personal training” as the basis for the payment. Smollett, of course, could have simply been covering his tracks via this personal training note. But the check in and of itself doesn’t appear to be evidence. Moreover, the texts Smollett sent to one of these brothers also backs up his claim that they were simply helping him get in shape for a music video. This is all a confusing, disturbing mess, that’s about all we can say for certain right now. Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said at a press conference last month that the assault “was staged, the brothers had on gloves… where they punched him a little, but as far as we can tell, the scratching and bruising that you saw on [Smollett’s] face was most likely self-inflicted.” Johnson went on to say Smollett owes everyone an apology for this farce. But the actor’s lawyers say that the police department is the one acting inappropriately here. “The presumption of innocence, a bedrock in the search for justice, was trampled upon at the expense of Mr. Smollett and notably, on the eve of a Mayoral election,” his team said after Johnson’s address to the media, adding a few days ago: “Mr. Smollett is a young man of impeccable character and integrity who fiercely and solemnly maintains his innocence betrayed by a system that apparently wants to skip due process and proceed directly to sentencing.” View Slideshow: Jussie Smollett: This is How He Staged His Assault
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Jussie Smollett Accomplices: Our Bad on the Fake Attack!
