Celebs React To The Jussie Smollett Controversy

In late January 2019, Empire actor Jussie Smollett went for a 2 a.m. Subway sandwich run that turned absolutely traumatic when he became the alleged victim of a brutal hate crime. According to TMZ, the star was hospitalized after what he claimed was an attack by two masked men who beat him up, placed a noose around his neck and doused him in what was later determined to be bleach. They also reportedly yelled racial and homophobic slurs at the star, who is black and openly gay, while referencing Donald Trump's "Make America Great Again" catchphrase.

According to Vox, Chicago police were "treating the incident as a possible hate crime" from the start. Following the initial reports, the actor received an outpouring of support from his fellow Empire co-stars, Hollywood A-listers and prominent politicians — from Ariana Grande to Nancy Pelosi. Then, the narrative shifted, and so did the celebrity hot takes.

In the following weeks, a number of reports claimed police were investigating whether or not Smollett paid off two men to orchestrate his attack — brothers Olabinjo Osundairo and Abimbola Osundairo, who have professional ties to Smollett. Smollett lawyered up and denied that the attack was staged, but was later arrested and charged with "disorderly conduct for allegedly filing a false report," according to CNN. Naturally, Hollywood had mixed feelings about this whole stranger-than-fiction scenario.

Criticisms of prominent public figures who've rallied behind Jussie Smollet have already surfaced with news of the shifting investigation. A New York Times op-ed highlighted the suspicion that Smollett would hold onto his Subway sandwich during the attack, that the noose would remain around his neck for so long (even once he returned home), and that his attackers would be searching for "high-profile targets at 2 a.m." in record-low temperatures. For many — like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, apparently — Smollett's story was beginning unravel.

According to Business Insider, Pelosi first tweeted in support of Smollett on January 29, 2019, the day the Empire actor spoke to Chicago Police. "The racist, homophobic attack on @JussieSmollett is an affront to our humanity," she wrote. "No one should be attacked for who they are or whom they love. I pray that Jussie has a speedy recovery & that justice is served. May we all commit to ending this hate once & for all."

Pelosi, who helped pass the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crime Prevention Act, later deleted the tweet after police reportedly began investigating whether or not the alleged attack was a hoax. Her deputy chief of staff Drew Hammill confirmed to Vanity Fair that she "decided to no longer amplify" Smollett's "original accusations" and will "comment further" once the investigation is complete.

Like Ava DuVernay, California Senator Kamala Harris has used her platform to highlight issues for people of color. Weeks after Jussie Smollett's alleged attack, the former prosecutor spoke about racial injustice at a North Carolina town hall. "In America today, a mother or father has to sit down with their 12-year-old son and talk to him about how he may be arrested, or may be shot because of the color of his skin," she said (via 10TV).

Harris, who has a deeply intimate relationship with the justice system after serving as California's attorney general, rallied behind Smollett following the initial news of his alleged attack. In a tweet, the senator claimed the alleged hate crime was a "modern day lynching" and urged her supporters to "confront this hate." Following the news that the Empire actor possibly staged his own attack, Harris was still hesitant to pass judgement until the investigation wrapped.

"I think the facts are still unfolding and I'm very concerned," she said during a New Hampshire forum (via the New York Times). "There should be an investigation."

Kenan Thompson may occasionally appear on Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update," but that doesn't mean he isn't confused by the news about Jussie Smollett. At first, the sketch comedy star supported his fellow Mighty Duck (Smollett appeared in the first Mighty Ducks film, while Thompson appeared in D2 and D3). During an appearance on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, the star asked to send "a lot of love" to the Empire actor and his family. He also urged that "this kind of madness needs to stop."

While investigators might have thrown a knuckle puck at Smollett's story, Thompson still wasn't quick to judge, but seemed pretty upset by the turn of events. In late February, Thompson told The Associated Press that the "story is so crazy."

"Now it's coming out that he might have set it up or whatever ... I wish I knew what the truth was because everybody's so quick to jump on one side or the other, you know, before the actual facts come out," he said. "I felt like me being a fellow Mighty Duck and him being an ex-Mighty Duck, like I should like extend my hand in that kind of like hope you, you know, stop the madness type of thing as well, but now it's like the story is turning, and it's starting to look kind of negative, so I don't know."

Before reports that Jussie Smollett staged — and rehearsed — his own attack, the Empire star went on Good Morning America to share his side of the story. According to The Blast, Smollett "specifically requested" to be interviewed on GMA by Robin Roberts because they knew each other from her April cameo on his FOX series. Though police had yet to investigate the actor's credibility, a number of ABC staffers present at the time of the interview reportedly felt like something was "amiss."

Smollett's interview may have not convinced everyone, but Trevor Noah did find it rather believable. In a segment on The Daily Show, the TV host said, "Either this guy's telling the truth, or he deserves an Emmy for that interview because if all of that is just a performance, I don't care what he's lying about. You can't cancel him. He's too good to not be on TV."

That's not to say Noah thought every part of Smollett's story made sense. Before putting Smollett up for an Emmy, the TV host claimed there was a "certain part of the story that was always a little weird."

"Who are the MAGA supporters who hate gay people, who hate black people, but also happen to watch Empire? ... It's like a member of the Klan buying tickets to Fiddler on the Roof," he said.

Empire's cast hasn't really spoken out about Jussie Smollett's story since the shift in headlines, but co-star Terrence Howard shed some light on what it felt like to be part of the cast when news of the alleged attack initially surfaced. Howard, who plays Smollett's on-screen dad, told Good Morning America (via ET) that their "jaws dropped to the ground, and then when we learned that there had been letters that had been sent to FOX as threats about the potential of something like this, then we became much more frightened."

Howard was most likely referring to a particularly frightening letter that was sent to the TV show's studio and contained a white powder. According to CBS Chicago, the letter contained "racial and homophobic threats directed at Smollett" and triggered a HAZMAT response, though the powder turned out to be aspirin. In another crazy twist, an anonymous source told CBS Chicago that Smollett decided to stage his own attack after the letter didn't get a "bigger reaction," but the news station also reports that Smollett may have actually been responsible for the letter in the first place.

Though Howard hasn't commented on the developments in Smollett's case, he did initially say his co-star was "getting better" following the alleged attack.

"He's angry, but I know Jussie. Jussie's anger will dissipate, and he will forgive these people for what they did. But he won't, and we cannot, forget their actions," he told Good Morning America (via ET).

Reverend Al Sharpton's life's work is fighting against racial prejudice and injustice, largely with the National Action Network which he formed in 1991. According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, the civil rights activist was only 10 years old when he "became an ordained Pentecostal minister." He founded a national youth organization dedicated to promoting "social and economic justice for African Americans" before he even graduated from high school. Despite his extensive work to end prejudice and promote equality, Sharpton didn't seem too pleased with the turn in Jussie Smollett's alleged hate crime case.

Sharpton told TMZ he was "outraged" with the initial reports of Smollett's alleged attack, and urged Trump to denounce the attackers, who reportedly told the Empire actor he was in "MAGA country" while putting a noose around his neck and dousing him with bleach. Following reports that the attack might have been a hoax, Sharpton still hoped the guilty receive the "maximum penalty of law" — even if the guilty includes Smollett himself.

"I, among many others when hearing of the report, said that the reports were horrific ... and the guilty should suffer the maximum," he said during his MSNBC show PoliticsNation. "I still maintain that, and if it is found that Smollett and these gentlemen did in some way perpetuate something that is not true, they ought to face accountability to the maximum."