Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images
Jussie Smollett is doubling down on his innocence after the January 2019 alleged assault resulted in more questions than answers.
The former Empire actor made a rare appearance during an Instagram Live interview with activist Marc Lamont Hill where he suggests that law enforcement is trying to make an example of him while also pleading for people to “look a little bit deeper.”
“And the sad part is that there’s an example being made of someone that did not do what they’re being accused of,” Smollett told Hill. He then continues to share that the lies and misinformation “were yelled from the rooftop. But then the second that something came out that corroborated everything that I said all of a sudden it was not even a whisper.”
The 38-year-old has maintained his silence for the majority of the open investigation but is beginning to question the impact it’s had on the case.
Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images
“It’s been beyond frustrating because to be somebody that’s so outspoken…it’s been difficult to be so quiet,” Smollett said. “I’m certainly not going rogue. I’m still taking the advice of my attorneys and everything like that. But I just don’t see honestly what staying quiet has really done. Where it has gotten me.”
Smollett claims that there is a tape that shows the two white men he alleges committed the hate crime against him “but of course it cuts off”. Hill brought to Smollett’s attention how someone could say how “awfully convenient” it is for the tape to cut off before the alleged incident occurs to which he replied, “I certainly didn’t have the power to cut the tape, so who cut it?”
“That’s something y’all got to ask yourself…I’m in a case. Y’all got to do the detective work.”
Smollett strongly believes that the case will not be absolved because they “won’t let this go” but the last thing he wants to do is “be portrayed as a victim.”
Tell us: Did Jussie Smollett’s silence do more harm than good?
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