A week after GMA aired her exclusive interview with Jussie Smollett, Robin Roberts says she’s not happy that the 36-year-old Empire actor lied to her face.
“It’s a setback for race relations [and] homophobia,” she said Thursday. “I cannot think of another case where there’s this anger on so many sides, and you can understand why there would be.”
Roberts added that “the fingers were pointed” at MAGA supporters in an unfair way.
Coming up next this Thursday morn @GMA my interview with @JussieSmollett. He gives a detailed account of what happened that night in Chicago. In our last hour…you'll hear his message to young gay youth and the LGBTQ community.
— Robin Roberts (@RobinRoberts) February 14, 2019
Earlier in the week, Roberts defended her decision to interview Smollett, saying that, given the information she had at the time, she had no reason to think he was being dishonest with her.
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“We have to remember, at that time, on Tuesday, police officers were saying that his account was consistent, it was credible, and that he was being cooperative,” she said.
“Now this was all before the interview aired on Thursday, and then we found out about the brothers (Abimbola “Abel” Osundairo and Olabinjo Osundairo, who told police Smollett paid them to help him stage the attack).”
Coming up this Thursday morn GMA @JussieSmollett has turned himself in and is now in custody…charged with a felony. We’ll have the latest details…@DanAbrams and @sunny will join to discuss.
— Robin Roberts (@RobinRoberts) February 21, 2019
And while this is certainly true, Robins can’t be blamed for something she didn’t know, The Blast reports that some GMA staffers had their suspicions.
The Blast reports:
According to our sources, some of the people who were in the room during the interview felt the validity of Smollett’s story was “up in the air” after his conversation with Roberts. Our sources say when Smollett and his team left the room after the interview was completed, there was immediately a feeling among the “GMA” staffers that something about Smollett’s story was amiss.
We’re told the interview came about because Smollett approached “GMA” about doing the sit-down, which was a very coveted interview to score. Our sources say Smollett specifically requested Robin Roberts for the interview because the two had a history together–Roberts appeared on an episode of “Empire” that aired in April 2018.
After turning himself into police, Jussie Smollett posted $100,000 bail yesterday and has since been released from custody. Meanwhile, the producers of Empire have stated that Smollett has been suspended from the series for the remainder of the season.
Related: Trevor Noah slams Jussie Smollett: “People hate Jussie Smollett because he’s an a**hole”
Morrisson
Robin should be angry at herself. She did not come at this interview from an independent or investigative point of view but rather to give Jussie the opportunity to pontificate. In her chase for ratings and sensationalism she ignored the inconsistencies of the story and contributed to damaging race relations, the ability of the (real) victims to now be heard and real journalism.
RIGay
Agreed.
QueerTruth
Wrong. She’s doing her job. She’s a journalist. Not a police detective.
MISTERJETT
it’s not on her at all. let face it, someone would have done the interview. if not her it would have been someone else. she was just doing her job. she didn’t put the words in his mouth.
iamru2
@misterjet you are right she “just did her job” which was to be a voice of support for him and give him an even larger platform than he already had to spread his hate and ignorance. She and Jussie and those that called people racist for having the nerve to question his BS story need to apologize.
ModeI
Robin did fine! She did follow up questions and you could tell she was serious. She did the best with what information she had at the time.
surreal33
Amen, Ms Roberts, job as a reporter is to INDEPENDENTLY verify facts which clearly she did not. Ms Roberts if you want someone to blame look in mirror.
Jared MacBride
Why is she pissed with him? Be pissed with her bosses who agreed to the “interview” as a fluff piece, and, as Morrisson pointed out, with herself for not acting like a journalist.
QueerTruth
Because she knows him.
Because she believed him.
Because she risked her reputation by giving him a platform to continue his lies.
Because she too is a gay black American.
I mean seriously. Why won’t she be pissed off.
Jared MacBride
QueerTruth – you just gave a lot of reasons a good journalist wouldn’t have done the interview in the first place. She’s to blame for her own problems on this.
QueerTruth
LOL. Nice try troll. That’s ludicrous.
Please explain how liberals are making conservatives lives difficult? Liberals believe in freedom. Conservatives believe in freedom for themselves only. If you don’t believe me, please open a history book. You’ll see for yourself.
MISTERJETT
i’m willing to bet you have a red cap somewhere, don’t you??
Wicked Dickie
1. it was a fluff piece, like the one that NBC did with that Covington kid.
2. It does not “set back race relations”. He’s not important enough or influential enough to effect race relations. Trump is influential enough, Obama is influential enough. A two-bit actor on tv is not.
3. As I said before, although he’s a black gay man, he does not represent all black, gay, or black gay men.
Bob LaBlah
Robin, I knew from your facial expressions and body language you did not believe him. He made a complete fool of himself and voice stress was present.
Black Pegasus
Be pissed at your damned self Robin! You set your long linky ass there and allowed him to LIE to us all. You are just as complicit as Jussie!
Kieran
If Robin had been any more passive during that interview she would have fallen asleep.
PinkoOfTheGange
Do your bosses know you post such drivel when your handle is a hyperlink to their gay hook up site?
TheMarc
Pointing the finger at anyone but Jussie is a divisive and ineffective for addressing the problem with this incident. People did what they were supposed to do. How many legitimate hate crimes started off with scant information and conflicting reports? In this case, Chicago PD initially stated they had no reason to believe it was not a legitimate incident. Whether you believed Jussie at the beginning or never did, it affects us all equally. Tear him down all you want; but not each other. Such bullshit just makes this even more tragic and damaging than it already is.
IAMBROWN
Agreed.
Xzamilloh
Needless to say, I was waiting for all of the facts to come out before commenting directly on Jussie Smollett, because in all honesty, I was hella skeptical of his story and as more evidence came out, I flat out didn’t believe him. And Robin Roberts gave a softball interview, so let’s not kid ourselves.
I’m also not about to harp on this crap for months on end as if Jussie lying is giving Flint, Michigan clean water, or identifying lying ass voter ballot fraud, or corrupt politicians continuing to do the bidding of Wall Street and hiding behind mainstream media focusing on the minutiae of an attention starved celebrity.
Kangol
You sound beyond deranged. Take off the tin-foil hat and get some sunshine.
Meanwhile, a far-right military vet white supremacist was just busted with a huge cache of weapons and plans to assassinate major political figures and journalists. He and most like him are not on “the left” or anywhere near it. And they don’t like gay people either, in case you missed that part.
jcoberkrom
Poor Robin, A interviewee has never lied to her before and she can’t cope. Give me a break. She should have done her homework better before interview him.
Toofie
Robin did fine. She did follow up questions and you could tell she was serious. She did the best with what information she had at the time.
MuslimSlutBox
grow up toofie
GayEGO
It is not Robin’s fault that Jussie lied about it. What he did really makes no sense and how was it going to help him get a raise, something he does not need as he makes $100,000 for each event.
Doug
Not only that, but why did he think after getting mugged his salary would be increased? Did he think the producers would pay him more because they felt sorry for him? Doesn’t make sense.
Toofie
I’m thinking by tying the attack to the letter, he could make the case the show didn’t protect him. But by doing that it really led to the story falling apart. The idea that the letter writer would know exactly where/when Smollett would be is ludicrous. It only makes sense in a soap opera way.
wvrnsson
I will say for the most part Robin should feel pissed. The one part that was coming out as it aired on Thursday that was contradictory or didn’t seem right was that the 2 men who were arrested and released were black Nigerians. Why would they have been calling Jussie the N word and why would they be calling Chicago “MAGA country”? Since Robin knew that before the interview aired on Thursday morning, she should have pulled the entire interview until it was clearer. But for the time when they sat together on Tuesday, she should be pissed he lied right to her face. He did do damage to both race relations and LGBTQ relations with his stunt and gave Trump and his supporters a “Told you so” moment.
MuslimSlutBox
Told you so.