Wdy Cy Tim News - Chigo police have opened a hate-crime vtigatn after openly gay actor Jsie Smollett om the televisn show Empire alleged he was attacked by men who shouted racial and homophobic slurs at him and physilly attacked him, acrdg to
Contents:
- JSIE SMOLLETT TRIAL: 'EMPIRE' ACTOR FOUND GUILTY OF STAGG RACIST, ANTI-GAY ATTACK
- ‘EMPIRE’ ACTOR JSIE SMOLLETT REVEALS HE’S GAY ON ‘ELLEN’: ‘THERE IS NO CLOSET’
- THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985
JSIE SMOLLETT TRIAL: 'EMPIRE' ACTOR FOUND GUILTY OF STAGG RACIST, ANTI-GAY ATTACK
CHICAGO (Rters) -Actor Jsie Smollett, one-time star of the TV drama "Empire," was found guilty on Thursday of stagg a hate crime agast himself what prosecutors said was a bid to ga sympathy and boost his reer. Prosecutors said Smollett, who is Black and gay, lied to police when he told them that he was acsted on a dark Chigo street by two masked strangers January 2019. The Cook County Circu Court jury, which liberated for ne hours, found Smollett, 39, guilty of five of the six felony disorrly nduct unts he faced, one for each time he was acced of lyg to police. * gay empire actor *
The actor Jsie Smollett claimed he was attacked and beaten by two masked men shoutg racist and homophobic slurs bee he was “dissatisfied wh his salary” on the TV show Empire, Chigo police have said. He said the actor also sent a racist and homophobic threateng letter to himself at the Fox stud lot Chigo, where Empire is actor, who is gay, hand himself to police on Thursday morng after he was charged wh felony disorrly nduct on Wednday for makg a false police report.
‘EMPIRE’ ACTOR JSIE SMOLLETT REVEALS HE’S GAY ON ‘ELLEN’: ‘THERE IS NO CLOSET’
* gay empire actor *
”Smollett, who plays a gay character the h Fox show, had said he was attacked as he was walkg home at 2am om a downtown Subway sandwich shop.
Former “Empire” actor Jsie Smollett was nvicted Thursday on charg he staged an anti-gay, racist attack on himself nearly three years ago and then lied to Chigo police about . Disorrly nduct is a class 4 felony that rri a prison sentence of up to three years, but experts have said he likely will be placed on probatn and orred to perform muny Smollett found guilty of 5 unts of stagg racist, anti-gay attack Chigo, lyg to policeDefense attorneys have suggted the Osundairo brothers were motivated to acce Smollett of stagg the hoax bee they disliked him and saw an opportuny to make money.
Defense attorney Uche lled the brothers “sophistited liars” who may have been motivated to attack Smollett bee of homophobia or bee they wanted to be hired to work as his secury. ’ ” Smollett 5: Jsie Smollett first tak the stand, tails alleged attackSmollett told the jury he “me to terms wh my sexualy” his early 20s, when he got volved chary anizatns, cludg a group that fights AIDS the Black said he dned for a role on “Empire” of a sger who is gay bee he had never seen a Black man portrayed that way.
THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985
On the day of the alleged attack, Smollett told jurors he was walkg home after buyg a sandwich when someone yelled to him about "Empire" and shouted a racist, homophobic remark. “I am also a well known figure at that time and I am an openly gay man.
Olabjo Osundairo also addrsed the fense's ntentn that the brothers were driven by homophobia. He ttified that he has nothg agast gays and the jury was shown a photo of the siblgs takg part Chigo’s 2015 gay pri para drsed as trojan cross examatn, fense attorney Shay Allen asked Abimbola Osundairo, who worked as a stand- on the Chigo set of “Empire, ” if he tried to get a $5, 000-per-week job as Smollett’s secury and if after he was qutned by police and released he told Smollett he and his brother wouldn’t ttify at his trial if they were each paid $1 ln.
M., Abimbola Osundairo — as stcted earlier by Smollett — shouted a homophobic slur and his brother yelled, “this is MAGA untry. 30, wh former police tective Michael Theis ttifyg that he ially viewed the actor as a victim of a homophobic and racist attack and that police “absolutely” didn’t sh to judgment as Smollett's fense attorney alleged durg openg, who now is assistant director for rearch and velopment for the Chigo Police Department, said roughly two dozen tectiv clocked some 3, 000 hours on what they thought was a hate crime January 2019.