Stephen Colbert delivered a blistering skit about Jussie Smollett, hours after charges alleging the Empire actor had lied about being the victim of a hate attack were dropped.
Colbert discussed the case, which underwent a surprise reversal on Tuesday, on his late show.
Smollett and his team have presented the authorities’ decision to dismiss the charges as a vindication, as Smollett has maintained his innocence. The actor said yesterday after an emergency court session that he has been ”truthful and consistent on every single level since day one”.
The mayor of Chicago and the city’s police chief, on the contrary, have criticised the move. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel called the deal, per which Smollett agreed to do community service and to let the city keep his $10,000 bail, ”a whitewash of justice”.
Colbert, who opened his skit with a quip comparing the prominence of the Smollett case in the news to that of the Mueller report, acknowledged the confusion surrounding the latest developments.
“For those of you who have not been following the story, let me catch you up: I don’t know,” he said.
“I don’t know what’s going on. This doesn’t make any sense. It was one thing, there was another thing, and now it’s another thing again.”
He then ran through the timeline, according to which Smollett first told police he had been the victim of a racist, homophobic attack on a Chicago street, then was charged with allegedly lying about it, before all charges against him were dropped.
“Isn’t it a hopeful sign for America that regardless of your race or sexual orientation, all rich, famous people get off easily?” Colbert quipped in his summary of the affair.
Colbert also sarcastically made up a Martin Luther King Jr quote, drawing from the civil rights activist’s famous “I have a dream” speech and turning it into: “I have a dream that one day, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will hire the very best publicists to leverage their social media profiles, escape charges, and then make a big comeback on The Masked Singer.”
