Jussie Smollett - Possible Hate Crime Attack

[TruthBTold]

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/apos-empire-apos-star-jussie-162842660.html

 

Terrible news. What is a weird thing is that who ever did it allegedly yelled out "This is MAGA country" as they fled. Downtown Chicago is definitely not MAGA country.

 

Any way, a few of the things that Smollett has said. "I get tired of the idea of someone telling me what my truth is," Smollett said in the interview. "I've said from the beginning of my journey: I do not hide who I am. I love who I love. No one is going to tell me that somehow that is going to be my disability."

"I am told so many times that I should not walk truly in my blackness," Smollett continued. "That I should not walk truly in my sexuality, I should not walk truly in who I am. I say thanks but no thanks, f**k you and goodbye. I honestly think that me being myself has actually helped my career move forward."

[Chuckball]

The red baseball caps spelling out what MAGA means in all honesty is a clever political gimmick. It is too bad idiots take the expression as a justification for racism and intolerance of people with alternate sexual tastes. Hate speech should be an aggravating factor in this deplorable assault. Hate speech is beyond politics and all right thinking people should abhor the supposed justification that these people are exercising their freedom of speech.

[+ quoththeraven]

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/apos-empire-apos-star-jussie-162842660.html

 

Terrible news. What is a weird thing is that who ever did it allegedly yelled out "This is MAGA country" as they fled. Downtown Chicago is definitely not MAGA country.

 

Any way, a few of the things that Smollett has said. "I get tired of the idea of someone telling me what my truth is," Smollett said in the interview. "I've said from the beginning of my journey: I do not hide who I am. I love who I love. No one is going to tell me that somehow that is going to be my disability."

"I am told so many times that I should not walk truly in my blackness," Smollett continued. "That I should not walk truly in my sexuality, I should not walk truly in who I am. I say thanks but no thanks, f**k you and goodbye. I honestly think that me being myself has actually helped my career move forward."

I took them to be referring to the US, not the Chicago area.

 

i'm just glad he wasn't more seriously injured.

[+ glutes]

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/apos-empire-apos-star-jussie-162842660.html

Terrible news. What is a weird thing is that who ever did it allegedly yelled out "This is MAGA country" as they fled. Downtown Chicago is definitely not MAGA country.

 

The low Monday early am in Chicago (zip code 60601) was 9 degrees.

https://weather.com/weather...

Who the fuck roams the icy, freezing streets at 2am hunting for people to attack, stocked up with ski masks, bleach and a noose?

While anything's possible, this is just beyond bizarre.

[+ quoththeraven]

From Twitter:[MEDIA=twitter]1090326312567357443[/MEDIA]

 

felt the need to talk about how heavy days like today are for Black Queer folk. I want more of us to speak out.

 

[MEDIA=twitter]1090326312567357443[/MEDIA]

 

What he says about Black Queer folk showing up for everybody else but not receiving the same level of support back is unfortunately true. That's why white supremacists gays like our friend Avalon are a menace. Their racist beliefs disqualify them from being full-fledged believers in and supporters of gay rights, let alone rights for the entire queer community.

 

"None of us are free until everyone is free"- Fannie Lou Hamer

"Some animals are more equal than others" - George Orwell

[+ glutes]

The incendiary story of an alleged hate crime attack targeting Empire actor Jussie Smollett immediately went viral yesterday, with media reporting the attackers made racial and anti-gay comments while using President Trump's "MAGA" slogan during the 2 a.m. assault in downtown Chicago.

But conflicting versions of the incident from Smollett himself, and details reported by the media being outright contradicted by Chicago Police have raised questions about what actually happened.

 

https://pjmedia.com/trending/shifting-stories-cloud-claims-of-alleged-hate-crime-attack-targeting-empire-actor-jussie-smollett/

[+ sync]

His physical appearance is sufficient to trigger a racist assault, but I'm wondering what triggered the homophobic assault, unless it was just another handy pejorative to inflict upon a helpless victim. Otherwise, It has me wondering if he was positively identified and targeted.

[caramelsub]

His story sounds fabricated. But it’s too early to tell what if anything really did happen. Sounds like he is trying to discredit the president. He does have a Twitter record of hating on Trump. This does not look good for him if he did make this whole thing up. He would be blacklisted.

[Kenny]

His story sounds fabricated. But it’s too early to tell what if anything really did happen. Sounds like he is trying to discredit the president. He does have a Twitter record of hating on Trump. This does not look good for him if he did make this whole thing up. He would be blacklisted.

What an assholish thing to say.

 

If it’s “too early to tell,” you should keep gross speculation, apparently based on nothing, to yourself.

[+ keroscenefire]

Smollett was sent a threatening letter a few days before the attack, so it very well could have been a premeditated thing and not someone who just randomly attacked him. https://pagesix.com/2019/01/30/jussie-smollett-turned-down-additional-security-before-attack/

[+ quoththeraven]

His physical appearance is sufficient to trigger a racist assault, but I'm wondering what triggered the homophobic assault, unless it was just another handy pejorative to inflict upon a helpless victim. Otherwise, It has me wondering if he was positively identified and targeted.

He could have been recognized from his TV work. He's fairly well-known and open about being gay in addition to playing a gay character on TV.

[+ quoththeraven]

I see that a post linking a report from a questionable website expressing skepticism about his story has been deleted, but in case anyone cares, the assertion that no suspects show up on surveillance cameras is untrue. Local police have released surveillance video of two persons of interest.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2019/01/31/this-was-racial-homophobic-hate-crime-jussie-smolletts-family-speaks-out-after-alleged-assault/?utm_term=.0438c7cb7653

[+ E.T.Bass]

From Twitter:[MEDIA=twitter]1090326312567357443[/MEDIA]

 

felt the need to talk about how heavy days like today are for Black Queer folk. I want more of us to speak out.

 

[MEDIA=twitter]1090326312567357443[/MEDIA]

 

What he says about Black Queer folk showing up for everybody else but not receiving the same level of support back is unfortunately true. That's why white supremacists gays like our friend Avalon are a menace. Their racist beliefs disqualify them from being full-fledged believers in and supporters of gay rights, let alone rights for the entire queer community.

 

"None of us are free until everyone is free"- Fannie Lou Hamer

"Some animals are more equal than others" - George Orwell

 

 

 

Ellen Page had some moving comments about Jussie Smollett and LGBT people on Colbert.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ec12JKkrhOo:407

[TruthBTold]

Ellen Page had some moving comments about Jussie Smollett and LGBT people on Colbert.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ec12JKkrhOo:407

 

Thank you for sharing that. It brought tears to my eyes. As she said that it is crazy that we are even debating (not all of us) that this was a hate crime and that we don't know how and where it starts.

[+ WilliamM]

Jesse Smollett was defiant at a concert on Saturday night at the Troubadour nightclub in West Hollywood:

 

"I have so many words in my heart that I want to say, but the most important thing is thank you so much, and that I am O.K "

 

Smollett said that although he had not fully healed, "I had to be here tonight."

He said he could not let his attackers win, referring to them with an expletive.

[+ glutes]

The low Monday early am in Chicago (zip code 60601) was 9 degrees.

https://weather.com/weather...

Who the fuck roams the icy, freezing streets at 2am hunting for people to attack, stocked up with ski masks, bleach and a noose?

While anything's possible, this is just beyond bizarre.

 

DING! Remember, Smollett is an actor...

 

CHICAGO --

Chicago police confirmed Thursday that detectives are talking to two persons of interest in connection with the alleged attack on "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett.

 

Multiple sources have told ABC7 Eyewitness News that police are investigating whether Smollett and the two men staged the attack allegedly because Smollett was being written off of "Empire."

 

A source familiar with the investigation told the ABC7 I-Team that Smollett failed to appear for an interview with detectives earlier Thursday.

[Kenny]

“Media reports about the ‘Empire’ incident being a hoax are unconfirmed by case detectives,” said Chief Communications Officer Anthony Guglielmi on Twitter. Chicago Police “Supt. Eddie Johnson has contacted ABC 7 Chicago to state on the record that we have no evidence to support their reporting and their supposed CPD sources are uninformed and inaccurate.”

 

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-jussie-smollett-attack-hoax-unconfirmed-20190214-story.html

[+ glutes]

“Media reports about the ‘Empire’ incident being a hoax are unconfirmed by case detectives,” said Chief Communications Officer Anthony Guglielmi on Twitter. Chicago Police “Supt. Eddie Johnson has contacted ABC 7 Chicago to state on the record that we have no evidence to support their reporting and their supposed CPD sources are uninformed and inaccurate.”

 

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-jussie-smollett-attack-hoax-unconfirmed-20190214-story.html

 

Unconfirmed, not denied.

 

And in a developing twist:

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ushome/index.html

[Kenny]

Unconfirmed, not denied.

 

And in a developing twist:

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ushome/index.html

I think the point is that we just don’t know what is what.

 

Plus, the Daily Mail is a celebrity scandal tabloid, so they probably do know.

[Kenny]

"Producers of the television drama also disputed media reports that Smollett’s character, Jamal Lyon, was being written off the show, calling the idea “patently ridiculous.”

 

[Chicago PD spokesman Anthony] Guglielmi reiterated Friday that there was “no evidence to say that this is a hoax” and that Smollett “continues to be treated by police as a victim, not a suspect.”

 

Guglielmi did not say whether his Daily Mail subscription had lapsed.

 

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/two-men-arrested-jussie-smollett-attack

[+ glutes]

DING! Remember, Smollett is an actor...

 

CHICAGO --

Chicago police confirmed Thursday that detectives are talking to two persons of interest in connection with the alleged attack on "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett.

 

Multiple sources have told ABC7 Eyewitness News that police are investigating whether Smollett and the two men staged the attack allegedly because Smollett was being written off of "Empire."

 

A source familiar with the investigation told the ABC7 I-Team that Smollett failed to appear for an interview with detectives earlier Thursday.

 

To quote Game of Thrones, "SHAME."

[Guest]

His story sounds fabricated. But it’s too early to tell what if anything really did happen. Sounds like he is trying to discredit the president. He does have a Twitter record of hating on Trump. This does not look good for him if he did make this whole thing up. He would be blacklisted.[/QUOT

What an assholish thing to say.

 

If it’s “too early to tell,” you should keep gross speculation, apparently based on nothing, to yourself.

 

 

It's interesting that all Caramelsub said was that he felt the story "sounds fabricated," qualifying that "its too early to tell," but Kenny did an immediate knee-jerk reaction, accusing him of being "assholish" for expressing his feelings on the matter. From the get-go the news that I was listening to always seemed skeptical, stating that Smollett had reported an "alleged incident." As it's turning out, it looks as though Carmelsub's intuition was probably correct. Count me as surprised if Kenny apologizes.

[Kenny]

Why apologize? If it’s “too early to tell,” gross speculation is gross. How it turns out is irrelevant. It is still too early to tell. Everything else is gossip.

[Guest]

There were a number of hints that this crime report was suspicious, which the media was quick to point out. Caramelsub expressed his suspicions calmly, acknowledging that they were just suspicions at that point. If you disagreed, you could have just countered with rational argument. Instead, you used name-calling, and responded emotionally instead of rationally, as you tend to do.

[TruthBTold]

One of the things that I find odd is that the television show's producers have maintained that in fact the Smollett character was not being written off the show. Putting aside any psychological reason or any other reason, if he was not being written off the show there would have been no reason for Smollett to "stage" his own attack. I suppose that will come at when the investigation is concluded but it just seems odd.