Claim: Jussie Smollett says he did not pay two brothers to stage a racist attack
(Picture: Getty Images)Former Empire actor Jussie Smollett has denied staging an anti-gay, racist attack on himself in Chicago, testifying at his trial that “there was no hoax”.
Smollett took the stand on charges he lied to Chicago police about the attack in an attempt to refute damaging testimony from two brothers last week.
They said Smollett, who is gay and black, orchestrated the January 2019 hoax to get publicity, giving them $100 for supplies and instructing them to place a noose around his neck and shout homophobic slurs.
They also said Smollett gave them a $3,500 cheque to carry it out.
But Smollett said he wrote the cheque for nutrition and training advice from one of the brothers, Abimbola Osundairo, while he was going to be out of town, not as payment for Osundairo and his brother to carry out the attack.
Asked by his defence attorney if he gave Osundairo payment for some kind of hoax, Smollett replied: “Never.”
He also said “absolutely not” when asked if he gave Osundairo and his brother $100 to pay for supplies for the hoax. Defence attorneys have suggested the brothers were motivated to accuse Smollett of staging the hoax because they disliked him and then saw an opportunity to make money.
They suggested that after the brothers, Abimbola and Olabingo Osundairo, were questioned by police about the alleged attack, they asked Smollett for $1 million each to not testify against him at trial.
Smollett, 39, is charged with six counts of felony disorderly conduct for making what prosecutors say was a false police report about the alleged attack.
