CHICAGO (AP) — A popular actor steps out onto the street and is brutally reminded that, despite his fame & wealth, places still exist where the color of his skin & sexual orientation put him in danger.
That was the story that ricocheted around the world after Jussie Smollett, a Black & openly gay actor, reported to Chicago police that he was the victim of a hate crime.
Nearly 3 years later, Smollett is about to stand trial on charges that he staged the whole thing.
He was charged with felony disorderly conduct after law enforcement and prosecutors said he lied to police about what happened in the early morning hours of Jan. 29, 2019, in downtown Chicago. He has pleaded not guilty. Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday. Disorderly conduct, a class 4 felony, carries a sentence of up to three years in prison but experts have said it is more likely that if Smollett is convicted he would be placed on probation & perhaps ordered to perform community service.
Smollett told police he was walking home from a Subway sandwich shop at 2 a.m. when two men he said recognized him from the TV show “Empire” began hurling racial & homophobic slurs at him. He said the men struck him, looped a makeshift noose around his neck & shouted, “This is MAGA country,” a reference to then-President Donald Trump’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.”
Just weeks later came the stunning announcement that Smollett was charged with staging the attack to further his career & secure a higher salary. And, police said, he hired 2 brothers from Nigeria, to pretend to attack him for $3,500.
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