Smollett Used $3500 Check To Pay Nigerian Brothers For Hoax Attack
ZeroHedge.com
Update5: As noted in the Chicago PD presser, Smollett paid the two brothers, Ola and Abel Osundario, with a personal check for $3,500.
Hopefully he issued them both a 1099 by the due date, otherwise he might get in trouble with the IRS too.
— Nixon's Head 🇺🇸 (@Nixons_Head_) February 21, 2019
MEMO: FOR HOAX
— TallDave (@TallDave7) February 21, 2019
Update4: Journalist Yashar Ali says that Smollett was making $65,000 per episode, while police say he staged the attack over not being paid enough. With an average 18-episode season, Smollett decided to stoke racial division across America because he thought $1.17 million per year wasn’t enough.
Scoop: A well-placed source familiar with his comp tells me @JussieSmollett was being paid $65,000 per episode for his co-starring role on Empire. Average season has 18 episodes. Police say his dissatisfaction with his salary let him to stage this hoax. https://t.co/FuDas9AcN8
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) February 21, 2019
Fox, which has stood by Smollett until now, says it is “evaluating” the situation and considering options.
Update3: President Trump has weighed in, tweeting on Thursday: “@JussieSmollett – what about MAGA and the tens of millions of people you insulted with your racist and dangerous comments!?”
.@JussieSmollett – what about MAGA and the tens of millions of people you insulted with your racist and dangerous comments!? #MAGA
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 21, 2019
Update2: A visibly angry Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson kicked off the Jussie Smollett presser with a scathing admonishment of the Empire star.
“I just wish that the families of gun violence in this city got this much attention, because that’s who really deserves the amount of attention that we’re giving to this particular incident,” Johnson began.
Powerful words from Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson.
"This morning, I come to you… as a black man who spent his entire life living in the city of Chicago… Jussie Smollett took advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career." pic.twitter.com/CEMWx5udY1
— Shelby Holliday (@shelbyholliday) February 21, 2019
Johnson confirmed that Smollett staged the hate crime after a letter he sent to himself did not have the intended effect.
“This stunt was orchestrated by Smollett because he was dissatisfied with his salary so he concocted a story about being attacked,” said Johnson, who added “This publicity stunt is a scar this city didn’t deserve.”
“Why would anyone, especially an African American man, use the symbolism of a noose to make false accusations?”
https://twitter.com/joshdcaplan/status/1098612228759130113?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1098612228759130113&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fnews%2F2019-02-21%2Fsmollett-under-arrest-empire-star-surrenders-felony-charge-hate-crime-hoax
Eddie T. Johnson, Superintendent of Police in Chicago says when he saw Smollett's @GMA interview it angered him.
"You know, it painted the city that we all love and work hard and in a negative connotation," he said. "It's just despicable." pic.twitter.com/IKRs50qDE5
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) February 21, 2019
It was also revealed that more than 50 search warrants have been executed in the investigation.