As conflicting stories continue to mount over the alleged attack of Empire star Jussie Smollett, celebrities and activists have begun preemptively criticizing the actor for possibly faking the whole thing.
Bisexual rapper Cardi B. recently took to social media to express her frustration with Smollett, saying she’s giving him the benefit of the doubt… for now. But, she added, if it turns out he lied then he really “f*cked up Black History Month.”
Related: Jussie Smollett’s story appears to be crumbling, according to multiple credible media outlets
Meanwhile, Comedian Dave Chappelle addressed the controversy during a recent stand-up set in Charlotte, North Carolina, telling the crowd he wanted to “break a dollhouse over [the actor’s] head” if he, indeed, lied about the attack.
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Even Rev. Al Sharpton has weighed in, saying that if Smollett is being dishonest, he should face “accountability to the maximum”.
Related: Cardi B. slams Jussie Smollett; Dave Chappelle jokes he “wants to break a dollhouse over his head”
It’s very important to note that, so far, police say they do not question the veracity of Smollett’s account and that the investigation is still ongoing.
A spokesperson for the Chicago Police Department said Sunday, “While we are not in a position to confirm, deny or comment on the validity of what’s been unofficially released, there are some developments in this investigation and detectives have some follow-ups to complete which include speaking to the individual who reported the incident.”
But this hasn’t stopped memers from going after Smollett, accusing the 36-year-old actor of lying, even though the investigation into the attack is still open…
Dwik27
Too early to tell. The only basis for saying he was involved was one of the perpetrators. Is THAT reliable? Nice way to get out of being charged. And if Smollett was involved – why on Earth would he pick someone he knows could be traced back to him??? I’m willing to give Smollett the benefit of the doubt right now. I just hope the Chicago police do a proper and thorough job.
Brian
You really think the cops don’t have security footage of him and the brothers scouting the location by now? All they needed was for the brothers to tell them when it happened so they knew where to look. Plus, of course, there is all of the evidence that the cops took from the apartment, plus Jussie’s phone records with all of the phone calls to the brothers. No idea why you still think it’s too early to tell. It’s not, don’t be so naive.
I do find it hilarious that they went to a specific place to make sure the attack was captured on film, and apparently that was the only part of the entire night that wasn’t filmed. If I were ever looking for the existence of God, that would probably do it for me.
truthseeker
@Brian
Plus I’m sure the CPD already has plenty of evidence from the Nigerian brothers’ testimony. For example, they said Juicy Omelette paid them $3500 each. If it was done via a cash app, check, or cash deposited into a bank account, there would be a paper trail. If they have texts from Pussie Smellit confirming the hoax, planning it, etc. then that would be evidence.
I think now they just want to get Jussie to lie to them during an interview again after they present this evidence to him before officially charging him. The police are probably afraid to move too quickly because then calls of racism will be thrown around. Plus the FBI is now looking into the possibly that the letter with a white powder substance was a hoax too
Brian
Most of these are kind of lame. I hope some better ones surface soon.
CobraPowers
So let me get this straight; Queerty says we should give Jussie the benefit of the doubt, and yet Queerty along with other left leaning LGBT media didn’t hold for a second to look into the facts before reporting and smearing 60+ million people who support the only American President who entered office being pro gay marriage, and who is the only American President publicly standing up against the cruel treatment of LGBT people in oppressive regimes. Jussie lied, anyone with an IQ above 90 can see that, and he deserves not only being ridiculed but also being punished for hoaxing a hate crime, and after that he should be forgotten and blacklisted from Hollywood.
Heywood Jablowme
“anyone with an IQ above 90”? – doesn’t include Trump himself:
Jan. 31: “I can tell you that it’s horrible. It doesn’t get worse,” Trump said in response to a question on Thursday from April Ryan, Washington bureau chief for American Urban Radio Networks.
Hdtex
So what flavor is Trump’s taint today? Ass or crack? Do you spit or swallow? Do you charge extra for anal? SO many questions……#MAGAt
thomes
I don’t know. Some of them are kind of funny. And he absolutely deserves the heat he’s getting
Mainere
He’s just a white-hating mess. He said before he’ll never allow himself and his gay Empire character to date white men but also allowed his character to sleep with a woman. I can’t believe he used the homophobia card when he probably doesn’t even care about homosexuality or at least, not as much as he care about the color of his skin
QueerTruth
Only if it’s true that he lied. At this point, it’s not known. So the hate mongering is premature.
truthseeker
Just a week ago, Queerty wrote an article saying that if you question or doubt Jussie’s story then you are a right-wing nut job, a conspiracy theorist, and the worst kind of person. The comment section then painted anyone who had doubts or asked real questions as being nazis, racist, white supremacists, Russian bots, trolls, anti-LGBT and more.
Why are we not allowed to ask real questions when things don’t make sense? Are we supposed to just consume the news as gospel and never question it or be ostracized?
Even on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Youtube, you can now be banned or suspended for stating that a “victim” of a crime is faking their story. Twitter will let you post videos of depraved gangbangs or extreme anal stretching videos but the moment you question a far-fetched hate crime narrative then you get banned. Strange world
MarathonBoy
This site holds as articles of faith, that promiscuity is healthy and harmless and that various forms of gender deviance – from crossdressing to transsexualism – are worthy of veneration. Most of this site is about bolstering beliefs which have no basis in reality, or to put it another way, most of the site is quasi-religious. So belief in Smollett’s claims is just one more thing.
Mainere
It’s always Graham who does these ridiculous articles
Heywood Jablowme
Trump himself jumped on the bandwagon, right away on Jan. 31:
President Donald Trump told reporters that the attack this week on “Empire” star Jussie Smollett was “horrible” and “doesn’t get worse.”
“I can tell you that it’s horrible. It doesn’t get worse,” Trump said in response to a question on Thursday from April Ryan, Washington bureau chief for American Urban Radio Networks.
Hdtex
@Marathon Boy….So what flavor is Trump’s taint today? Ass or crack? Do you spit or swallow? Do you charge extra for anal? SO many questions……#MAGAt
truthseeker
@HeywoodJablowme
Well what would you have preferred he said? That he thinks it’s a hoax? If he was that blunt, then probably you, Queerty, and every other media outlet would say he’s racist and homophobic for questioning Jussie.
Just last week, Queerty said if you doubt Jussie, you’re anti-LGBT, racist, a troll, a Russian bot, or a white supremacist.
Now that his hoax is falling apart, people are trying to spin the police as being racist. The media are the ones who boosted this story as legit and if you questioned it, you were considered an awful person. The media needs to start asking questions and investigate before rushing to judgement
Back when it happened, celebrities, the news, and some commenters on here said how angry they were and that Trump supporters should pay and be punished for what they did. Now, those same people are saying we shouldn’t rush to any judgements and should wait for facts
Jboo
@Truthseeker. THIS! Exactly!
Kieran
I see Snoop Dogg is now attacking Jussie when he’s down. Snoopie don’t like brothas who be gay. For real.
Donston
Although I believed he was attacked, from the beginning I figured that the story was more complicated than him being attacked by strangers based on race and gender preferences. The details were odd from the start. And I pretty much assume everything that comes from Hollywood has some type of manipulation attached to it. I just thought no one would be that dumb. He had to know the police would investigate considering his fame and that this didn’t really come off as a random attack. The real problem is that he’s just made things more generally divisive, gave the Trump supporters more leverage and has undermined actual hate crimes that go down every day.
Morrisson
Can someone at Queerty please stop Graham from writing articles. First he goes all out accepting an unsubstantiated version of events. Then he accuses people of being right wing racist fruit n’ nut cakes. Then after all is reveled he cautions patience and highlights the fact that the new revelations are unsubstantiated and unconfirmed even though they have been leaked by the CPD. Has he not learned a lesson from the Corvington fiasco. I think he should focus his talents on cooking reviews.
RomanHans
What Covington fiasco? Are you referring to the ridiculous spin right-wing media tried to put on a bunch of overprivileged, Trump-supporting teens harassing people?
Morrisson
You lost me at over privileged. No i am referring to the ridiculous lies told by left wing media about minors. When the real instigators were black homophobic Hebrew Israelite’s and Phillips. @ RomanHans facts are not subjective.
Blackceo
I am all the way here for the absolute dragging of Jussie Smollett to the pits of hell when all of this comes out. I hope he’s been putting those Empire checks in his savings because no one will want any association with him after this. None of this takes away from the fact that LGBTQ and race based hate crimes and physical attacks continuously happen, but something like this really adds fuel to an already stoked fire of division in the country.
If a White celebrity had staged some crap like this and said two Black guys attacked him screaming F— Trump when it turned out to be a hoax, they would have rightfully been dragged to the moon and back. There should be no difference here. I need to see all my fellow Black folk have the same energy and outrage they would’ve had if a White celeb had done something like this. Some are expressing it, but there are others I see who are already trying to make excuses for Jussie, or doing whataboutisms.
jcoberkrom
Munchhausen is a serious condition. I hope Jussie gets help.
Heywood Jablowme
As someone who has been gay-bashed several times, AND as a Trump hater, I’m glad I avoided chiming in on this one until now. Some things about it seemed very peculiar – if not quite SO peculiar that it was obviously a hoax from the get-go.
The supposed incident seemed like the vivid imagination of someone who had never been physically attacked, trying to imagine what a gay-bashing would be like.
Many of the hyperbolic responses to it seemed like that too. A “horrific” attack is not when someone who obviously knows you, in a very public place (with modern cameras everywhere), scares you a bit. A “horrific” attack is when (for instance) someone beats you literally into a coma and you’re in danger of actually dying! But maybe that’s a sort of progress: that the younger generation just doesn’t know from personal experience what such things are really like.
Rock-N-RollHS
Aaaa-men!