Nice catch. In light of the emergence of these two “involved” parties that were just released, the letter becomes harder to explain in the absence of some staging by either the actor, his manager or both.
Take note the letter had MAGA written on it which appears to be a common theme from the letter, his description of the words of the attacker and his assertion of motivations during his televised interview.
^^That is a big deal. Obviously these two incidents are related, and if they figure out one, they figure out the other.Someone is in huge trouble, and I’m sure they will figure it out in short order.
Please take a look at the “persons of interest” - now released - in this video. This was likely a “lover’s quarrel” that got out of hand, if it was anything at all other than a cooked up hoax by Smollett and his manager: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPnUcmV6DcM
^ In that video I linked, note that one of the persons of interest was filmed doing handstands on a treadmill in the gym of Jussie Smollett’s apartment building:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPnUcmV6DcM&feature=youtu.be&t=72
Here is a well done video essay, just out this morning, that places the whole Smollett incident within the broader political and societal context. It also does a good job summarizing the salient facts of the case.
@SatchelSF It seems that you have rushed to a conclusion, given your posts here.
None of us knows what happened. I just don’t get why some people seem to be almost gleeful in their anticipation of it not being a true assault.
Smollett has now retained very high profile defense counsel, the same one who represented Michael Cohen.
I suspect we won’t be seeing any more weepy-eyed fluff interviews of Smollett on Good Morning America. CPD played this pretty well (they knew it was a farce from the beginning). The only question is whether the prosecutor will be allowed to pursue charges against Smollett. I’m betting no, because it doesn’t fit the narrative.
https://www.tmz.com/2019/02/16/jussie-smollett-suspects-lawyer-attack-release/
Sounding more and more like the Nigerian brothers are involved and have cut a deal…
If they have cut a deal to protect themselves, these guys are going to grab their chance at fame and be on every talk show in America, selling their story to every magazine they can. They are bit part actors, if the stories are to be believed, and this is their opportunity. That is, if someone else staged this.
No, @busdriver11. I hope you are right, but I doubt that very much. The media will attempt to bury this, notwithstanding the current frenzy. Just watch.
Very sad to see here that because two possible suspects have been released, so many people are jumping to the conclusion that an individual claiming to have been assaulted must have made it up. I hope people will be a little bit introspective about their “conclusions.”
“None of us knows what happened. I just don’t get why some people seem to be almost gleeful in their anticipation of it not being a true assault.”
Because we have digressed into a larger culture where people get their fix from being spiteful and mean; often in an anonymous context. It’s sad really and probably points to a lack of more interesting, “real life” activities in their lives. Just look at the popularity of reality TV etc.
the amount of conjecture on this thread is mind boggling lol
Here was the Speaker of the House two weeks ago, very circumspect and cautious in her judicious conclusions:
It’s not hard to find who jumped to conclusions early, and it wasn’t people posting on this forum (although I admit the second I heard the story I knew it was a fake).
I don’t think any outcome results in “winners”.
If he has told the truth it is a tragic case of racism and bigotry. If he has lied he has harmed the credibility of all future victims and furthered the divisions that exist in our society.
While some may ultimately be happy having been proven “right” in their assessment, I would suggest the opposite emotions should prevail. This entire event highlights how polarised our country is, and regardless of outcome has served to widen that gap… we have all lost.
It seems that certain people WANT to be seen as victims. Nathan Phillips, the Native American in the Covington story, for example. And now perhaps Smollett. Certain types of victims get very sympathetic coverage by the media. It fits the narrative that there are lots of people who are racist homophobes, and isolated incidents prove it, according to them.
Other victims, victims of real crime, get very little media coverage or general sympathy. Angel moms, victims of crimes by homeless transients, victims of gang violence. These people who have had loved ones, shot, stabbed, run over, attacked, had their homes burned down, get a shrug from the media. Those crimes don’t fit the narrative the media wants to push.
Smollet also followed their Instagram posts. They sure sound like a pair of MAGA-yelling racist homophobes to me.
^ the daily mail isn’t a reliable source.
(You can’t trust it’s publications the way you would for a legitimate paper. It doesn’t mean what they publish is necessarily false but read it with a huge grain of salt ie., Probably embellished, might be fiction.)
The normal human reaction when someone says they’ve been the victim of a crime is to believe them, support them, and condemn the attack.
Then let the police do their job.
“The actor said he doesn’t “have any doubt” that the two people in the surveillance image released by police are his alleged attackers.”
“The two men who were questioned by police in the Jussie Smollett attack investigation are the same people who appeared in a security image released by cops last month, Chicago Police officer Jennifer Bryk confirmed.”
“Empire” Cast & Nigerians Arrested In Jussie Smollett Case Are Tight"
“Attorney Gloria Schmidt was at the Chicago police station Friday night, after her clients, Ola and Abel Osundairo, were released from custody. Schmidt said the “new evidence” that triggered the release of her clients was something they knew and presumably told cops.”
The above are from a variety of sources: Washington Post, NYT, NY Daily News and TMZ. Take them with varying grains of salt, but several are either direct quotes of individuals or found in multiple sources.
This fact pattern leads to a likely interpretation that it was staged. This is neither conjecture or conclusive but reasonable based on what is known. @Tonymom and @iangrodmon my arriving at this view isn’t driven by an agenda or received with glee. Unfortunately it just appears to be reality. If I am wrong I will offer a full throated apology, I would hope you would commit to the same. My default position has been and will continue to be to believe a victim, that trust however does have limits.
I don’t think one can generalize what is a"normal" reaction. When something doesn’t seem reasonable, I would say it is “normal” to have questions, particularly with the constant dribble of new details.
Of course people are interested. This is a salacious story involving a famous actor, it’s like a made for TV movie. It involves politics, racial and homophobic accusations, it’s Jerry Springer material of the rich and famous. It’s a train wreck, you don’t want to watch it, but you can’t look away. If this was about a non-famous person, it might not have even hit the news.
Smollett also just hired a very prominent criminal defense attorney. We know he just hired him because no lawyer would have let a client do that GMA interview had he or she been retained at the time.