Chicago police rip Jussie Smollett for staging attack to ‘advance his career’: [See Video excerpt of press conference]

#JussieSmollett #HateCrime #Arrest

Jussie Smollett staged his own hate attack because he was “dissatisfied” with his salary, the Chicago police superintendent said on Thursday — as he excoriated the “Empire” star for taking “advantage of the pain and anger and racism to advance his career.”


 

The Windy City’s top cop, Eddie Johnson, divulged the alleged motive behind the Jan. 29 attack, during which Smollett claimed his attackers called him racist and homophobic slurs and looped a noose around his neck.

“The stunt was orchestrated by Smollett, 36, because he was dissatisfied by his salary,” Johnson said at a press conference.

Earlier in the morning, Smollett was arrested and charged with filing a false police report — a felony — the culmination of an increasingly unraveling story that gripped the nation.

In his impassioned remarks, Johnson said that as a black man who’s grown up in Chicago, he was “offended” and “angry” over Smollett’s alleged lies.

“This announcement today recognized ‘Empire’ actor Jussie Smollett took advantage of the pain and anger and racism to promote his career,” he said. “I’m left hanging my head and asking why? Why would anyone, especially an African-American man, use the symbolism of a noose to make false accusations? How could someone look at the hatred and suffering associated with that symbol and see an opportunity to manipulate that symbol to further his own public profile?”

Johnson went on to say that Smollett paid $3,500 to two brothers, Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo, to stage the attack “and drag Chicago’s reputation through the mud in the process.”

“We have the check he used to pay them,” Johnson said, explaining that the bodybuilding brothers were promised another $500 upon return from their trip to Nigeria.

The pair, who were arrested on Feb. 13, spilled their guts about the alleged hoax just as police were set to release them. Police had 48 hours to bring charges against them — and the brothers confessed in the 47th hour, Johnson said.

“With the help of their lawyer, they decided to confess to the entirety of what the plot was,” he said.

When they pointed to Smollett’s motive, “quite frankly, it pissed everyone off,” he added.

The trio allegedly spoke on the phone in the hour before the 2 a.m. assault and again an hour after, police said. The Osundairos took a ride share to near the scene in Chicago’s ritzy Streeterville neighborhood and cops were able to positively identify them because they showed up on camera inside the car.

Johnson said a scuffle did take place just steps away from Smollett’s apartment — but that the actor’s injuries were “likely self-inflicted.”

“They punched him a little bit,” he said.

The superintendent confirmed earlier reports that Smollett concocted the alleged attack when a threatening letter he received at “Empire’s” studios a week prior didn’t garner enough attention.

Johnson described that letter as “false.”

Smollett claimed he was punched by two strangers who shouted “Empire f—-t n—-r” and “This is MAGA country!” — a reference to President Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan. He said the attackers threw bleach on him and tossed a noose over his neck.

In his interview with “Good Morning America,” Smollett said he was “pissed off” by those who doubted his account.

“At first it was the thing of like, listen, if I tell the truth then that’s it because it’s the truth. Then it became a thing of, like, how can you doubt that? How can you not believe that? It’s the truth,” he said last week.

Johnson called the interview “despicable.”

“It makes you wonder what’s going through someone’s mind,” he said.

Asked what justice would be in the case, Johnson demanded an apology from Smollett “to the city that he smeared” and restitution for the resources wasted from investigating the bogus hate crime.

“I love the city of Chicago … but this publicity stunt was a scar that Chicago didn’t earn and certainly didn’t deserve,” he added.

Smollett is currently in police custody after turning himself in around 5 a.m. Neither he nor his attorneys have made any statements to police or publicly.

His bond hearing is set for 1:30 p.m. local time.

By Gabrielle Fonrouge and Lia Eustachewich February 21, 2019