UPDATE: Jussie Smollett was recently sentenced for perpetuating a hate crime on the city of Chicago and the world at large via his constant media whoring at the time. In a shameful attempt to defend him civil rights leaders, many of whom I respect, like Rev. Jessie Jackson, Patrice Cullors of Black Loves Matters and his family have described what happened to him as a "miscarriage of justice". As erroneous as those statements are, according to TMZ, his former Empire co-star Academy Award nominated actress Taraji P. Henson, took it to another disgusting level when she ignorantly and inaccurately compared him to slain 14-year old civil rights icon Emmett Till.
I don't need to recount for you the ghastly, horrific details of what happened to Emmett Till in Mississippi in 1955. If you are unfamiliar google it, it is horrible, (if you want an inside look I suggest you check out the wonderful ABC miniseries Women of the Movement, on abc.com or Hulu) and any person with half a brain knows that it it in no way comparable to what Jussie did to himself when he faked a hate crime.
In fact, what makes it all the more egregious is that Smollett's actions actually hurt legitimate victims of hate crimes like Emmett Till. Smollett has given police, elected officials and the general public reason to doubt any claims of racially motivated violence that are reported.
Henson invoked Till's name purposefully, knowing it would trigger emotions. In her mind that would cause people to support Smollett instead it has moved people to denounce her, rightfully. Lastly, Henson did not even bother to get the details correct in her Emmett Till post. She stated that Carolyn Bryant admitted to lying about her interaction with Till, while this has been widely reported, it simply isn't true. Bryant has maintained, even when interviewed by the FBI, she never recanted her statement and according to the FBI the author of a book who alleged she did could not produce it in the recording of his conversation with her nor was it in his contemporaneous notes of the conversation. This does not change that what happened to Emmett Till was a travesty that should have never happened. A true injustice at the hands of White racists who took away his liberty and rights. No one hurt Jussie but his damn self.
I personally think he got exactly what he deserved.
When Jussie Smollett first told his tale of woe, about being attacked and beaten in a racially motivated hate crime in the middle of winter in Chicago, every mainstream media outlet as well as celebrities galore couldn't wait to jump on his victim bandwagon. Now he has been convicted of 5 out of 6 counts of lying to the police about the alleged hoax. Since the jury has spoken, it is now time for the mainstream media and several top celebrities to apologize to the public.
I for one, never believed the story. It strained credulity to believe two random white MAGA supporters just happen to be walking outside, in below zero degree weather, near Jussie's apartment building at 2:00 in the morning carrying a noose and bleach all to attack the "gay dude from Empire." I mean really? First, if you're going to do all of that to attack somebody wouldn't you pick a bigger target than some dude from Empire? (A show I don't suspect a lot of MAGA fans watched but I could be wrong). Secondly, what was he doing outside at that time of morning and in that weather? He claims he was getting a sandwich from Subway instead of having food delivered, eating something he already had at home or just going to bed and eating tomorrow. Furthermore, even if you believe the Subway sandwich nonsense how did the MAGA guys know he was going to be outside (or where he lived, that he was home, etc...) grabbing a sandwich at 2:00 in the morning? I don't know about you but if I'm going to risk frostbite and hypothermia I'm going to be damn sure my target actually shows up. Thirdly, he had no real injuries. No broken ribs, no black eye, no busted noise or split lip. I mean truthfully I've had worse injuries after a pillow fight with my little sister. Days later he was up on stage dancing and singing as if nothing had happened. It made no sense, if these guys did all of that to attack you and then actually got to attack you why not take advantage of it by truly kicking your ass?
From just those few common sense thoughts you can see this story was ripe for interrogation yet mainstream media, politicians and celebrities did no questioning. They blindly believed Jussie's ridiculous story. Even renowned journalist Robin Roberts of Good Morning America, who had a one on one interview with Jussie, peddled him softball questions and failed to make even the most obvious inquires which would cast doubt on his story. The media has a duty to question in order to ascertain the facts. Their job is to inquire, question what doesn't make sense, inform the public of all sides of a story and then let the viewer come to their own conclusion. This duty to the public was the drumbeat the media played for four years to justify their mainly negative coverage of President Trump. Their failure to vet Jussie's story was not only derelict but was motivated by their zealous desire to paint President Trump and his supporters in the worst light possible. That level of basis and refusal to apply critical thinking is the exact opposite of journalism and is the reason why so many owe the public an apology.
This Article is the opinion of its author Warren D. Robinson, click on this link to learn more about Warren. It does not represent the opinions of What America REALLY Thinks, any of our sponsors, staff or personnel.
Photo Credit: Thomas Lewis