https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/06/us/jussi ... index.html

Lots of twists and turns at this trial. Smollett testifying that the two brothers the state said he paid to stage a hoax helped him get drugs and that a relationship began to develop and that one of the brothers asked to be his private security.

He went on to state he didn't give his phone to police because he didn't think they would believe him. The two brothers testified Smollett staged this to garner sympathetic media coverage. Paid them money etc.

This will be an interesting verdict to say the least but I think it's clear he staged this and should be held accountable.

NIKV69 wrote:

I think it's clear he staged this and should be held accountable.

I'm inclined to agree. To think that his only motive was profit and publicity makes it even worse. He could've caused large scale disturbances and innocent people to lose their lives.

johns624 wrote:

NIKV69 wrote:

I think it's clear he staged this and should be held accountable.

I'm inclined to agree. To think that his only motive was profit and publicity makes it even worse. He could've caused large scale disturbances and innocent people to lose their lives.

Thankfully he didn't name specific people, as we have seen in the past when innocent people are accused of sexual crimes whether racial or not their lives are ruined even when they are exonerated. The media is sinister in this regard.

NIKV69 wrote:

I think it's clear he staged this and should be held accountable.

I agree. He needs to be held accountable. I haven't been following it very closely but from what I gather he did this because he was pissed that the producers of Empire didn't react the way he wanted them to when he got some form of a threatening letter... or something along those lines is the apparent reason? Whatever the reason, what he did was not the path forward.

It bothers me, more fundamentally, because it minimizes and diminishes the real threats that LGBTQ+ people face when a guy like him cries wolf. Example A, that just hit the wire in the last 24 hours -

https://news.yahoo.com/74-old-man-arres ... 52229.html
A 74-Year-Old Man Was Arrested For Threatening To Shoot And Bomb LGBTQ Groups And Attack NYC Pride

He definitely seems to have had an ulterior motive to get back at his employer or 'prove something' to them. Faking an incident is serious and could have had societal impact. At the very least, it is fitting that he loses his career.

This idiot thinks he is helping some sort of cause. He is - he absolutely is. The far right.

Aaron747 wrote:

He definitely seems to have had an ulterior motive to get back at his employer or 'prove something' to them. Faking an incident is serious and could have had societal impact. At the very least, it is fitting that he loses his career.

At the very least. We have seen what happens to people that are falsely accused of racism and sexual crimes and it's not enough to just lose your career. Other people out there need to know that if they go down this road they risk jail time. We are seeing more and more of this crap.

Based on the trial reporting I've seen, I know one thing for sure, someone is committing perjury...
I'll let you decide who you think it is, Jussie or the Brothers Osundairo.

T18 wrote:

Based on the trial reporting I've seen, I know one thing for sure, someone is committing perjury...
I'll let you decide who you think it is, Jussie or the Brothers Osundairo.

Jussie may be a good actor on TV, but in a courtroom -- big-time fail.

T18 wrote:

Based on the trial reporting I've seen, I know one thing for sure, someone is committing perjury...
I'll let you decide who you think it is, Jussie or the Brothers Osundairo.

Not a hard one to figure out. From the beginning I knew this whole story was BS.

If convicted, I'm of the belief that the punishment should at least match the punishment that the fake crime would attract.

Virtual737 wrote:

If convicted, I'm of the belief that the punishment should at least match the punishment that the fake crime would attract.

The co-founder of BLM stated that if Smollett is convicted, it will be a verdict decided in a white supremacist charade. In the event he is found innocent, all is forgiven.

Verdict reached, Smollett and his entourage heading into the courtroom

Verdict announced. Guilty. Well Jussie I guess you will go on blaming police and MAGA voters. I commend Chicago for doing the right thing. I just hope the Mayor doesn't make some asinine statement as she is prone to do.

NIKV69 wrote:

Verdict reached, Smollett and his entourage heading into the courtroom

Verdict announced. Guilty. Well Jussie I guess you will go on blaming police and MAGA voters. I commend Chicago for doing the right thing. I just hope the Mayor doesn't make some asinine statement as she is prone to do.

CNN interviewed the very progressive former mayor of Baltimore, and her opinion was interesting. She said the verdict was not a surprise at all, and that Smollett has such difficulty with lying and recognizing reality that he needs professional help. It wouldn't be the first time someone with an entourage was crazy and their behavior was enabled further by hangers-on.

What a sad and tragic story. It has destroyed his life, made worse our country dealing with racial and GLTBQ issues at a full boil. He now faces jail as he should for false police reports.

ltbewr wrote:

What a sad and tragic story. It has destroyed his life, made worse our country dealing with racial and GLTBQ issues at a full boil. He now faces jail as he should for false police reports.

I've been reading up on this story, given that it made the news over here this morning. Seems he used a position of privilige to garner public support, waste police time and possibly inflame race relations. Probably sad indeed, but hardly tragic, given that he is the architect of his own misfortune -- not to mention the trouble he could have caused.

Aaron747 wrote:

NIKV69 wrote:

Verdict reached, Smollett and his entourage heading into the courtroom

Verdict announced. Guilty. Well Jussie I guess you will go on blaming police and MAGA voters. I commend Chicago for doing the right thing. I just hope the Mayor doesn't make some asinine statement as she is prone to do.

CNN interviewed the very progressive former mayor of Baltimore, and her opinion was interesting. She said the verdict was not a surprise at all, and that Smollett has such difficulty with lying and recognizing reality that he needs professional help. It wouldn't be the first time someone with an entourage was crazy and their behavior was enabled further by hangers-on.

A majority of the MSM which tried so hard to convince the public of Smollett's innocence (and to convict Rittenhouse) also needs professional help. It was difficult to access unbiased coverage of this (along with Nick Sandman's ordeal).

I think the person from the police dept talking after the verdict said that 2,300 hours of police time were spent on a wild goose chase investigation. I think the guilty party did this for gain. Let him pay the police investigation bill. Entirely due to his dishonesty and (perhaps) greed.

I play the stock exchange for gain. If I take a risk for gain that does not work out I pay the cost including dealing fees. And I haven't acted dishonestly for gain. So unfair!

1. The girls on The View are unanimous in their belief Smollett *must* have been influenced by drugs.

2, My sentencing prediction: 1 year; eligible for parole after 3 months.

Elkadad313 wrote:

1. The girls on The View are unanimous in their belief Smollett *must* have been influenced by drugs.

2, My sentencing prediction: 1 year; eligible for parole after 3 months.

Ah the women on the view. It's ironic how Sunny Hostin who is so obsessed with race can't understand how Smollett acted and what drive him to act. The sentence will probably be lighter I doubt he does more than 30 days in jail.

NIKV69 wrote:

Elkadad313 wrote:

1. The girls on The View are unanimous in their belief Smollett *must* have been influenced by drugs.

2, My sentencing prediction: 1 year; eligible for parole after 3 months.

Ah the women on the view. It's ironic how Sunny Hostin who is so obsessed with race can't understand how Smollett acted and what drive him to act. The sentence will probably be lighter I doubt he does more than 30 days in jail.

It's worth noting that mental illness can be worse with celebrities because their entourage are comprised of people who never say no or 'you're wrong'. The same interview I mentioned on CNN also said even if so he should have to repay every hour of police cost and public disturbance he caused.

Her opinion as a former prosecutor was retelling the same story time and again that is so easily proven false requires mental illness.

Aaron747 wrote:

NIKV69 wrote:

Elkadad313 wrote:

1. The girls on The View are unanimous in their belief Smollett *must* have been influenced by drugs.

2, My sentencing prediction: 1 year; eligible for parole after 3 months.

Ah the women on the view. It's ironic how Sunny Hostin who is so obsessed with race can't understand how Smollett acted and what drive him to act. The sentence will probably be lighter I doubt he does more than 30 days in jail.

It's worth noting that mental illness can be worse with celebrities because their entourage are comprised of people who never say no or 'you're wrong'. The same interview I mentioned on CNN also said even if so he should have to repay every hour of police cost and public disturbance he caused.

Her opinion as a former prosecutor was retelling the same story time and again that is so easily proven false requires mental illness.

Mental illness -- the cause of most of these problems. Culture? Bien sur que non.

Elkadad313 wrote:

Aaron747 wrote:

NIKV69 wrote:

Ah the women on the view. It's ironic how Sunny Hostin who is so obsessed with race can't understand how Smollett acted and what drive him to act. The sentence will probably be lighter I doubt he does more than 30 days in jail.

It's worth noting that mental illness can be worse with celebrities because their entourage are comprised of people who never say no or 'you're wrong'. The same interview I mentioned on CNN also said even if so he should have to repay every hour of police cost and public disturbance he caused.

Her opinion as a former prosecutor was retelling the same story time and again that is so easily proven false requires mental illness.

Mental illness -- the cause of most of these problems. Culture? Bien sur que non.

Because 'culture' as a catch-all is absurd, it's far too broad - whereas specific behaviors and norms are well understood and can be traced to mental illness and life circumstances like being a child actor and coming into wealth quickly. Here's an example from my time living abroad of why culture is an absurd battle cry in this sense: in Japan it is very uncommon for an individual to share private matters or true feelings to people other than close friends and family. It is not unusual to be unaware a colleague of several years is married and/or lives with parents while everyone is led to believe they are single or live on their own. Supervisors will usually tell employees they are great only to find evaluations later expose many areas for improvement. Does that mean it's a culture of liars and lying? Of course not.

What is sad about this case is there is a serious problem with hate crimes and also a fear of black people for whatever reason in our culture. These problems need to be addressed. When you go and stage a hate crime like this, it only harms the very communities that you are a part of because now real victims are less likely to be believed, and more importantly people on the other side point to these people as liars and it becomes a "crying wolf" scenario.

Smollett should do time for what he did here. But let us not forget the real victims of hate crimes that are still very real.

apodino wrote:

What is sad about this case is there is a serious problem with hate crimes and also a fear of black people for whatever reason in our culture. These problems need to be addressed. When you go and stage a hate crime like this, it only harms the very communities that you are a part of because now real victims are less likely to be believed, and more importantly people on the other side point to these people as liars and it becomes a "crying wolf" scenario.

Smollett should do time for what he did here. But let us not forget the real victims of hate crimes that are still very real.

Well-said, could not agree more top to bottom.

apodino wrote:

What is sad about this case is there is a serious problem with hate crimes and also a fear of black people for whatever reason in our culture. These problems need to be addressed. When you go and stage a hate crime like this, it only harms the very communities that you are a part of because now real victims are less likely to be believed, and more importantly people on the other side point to these people as liars and it becomes a "crying wolf" scenario.

Smollett should do time for what he did here. But let us not forget the real victims of hate crimes that are still very real.

Let us also not forget that white on black crimes are the only hate crimes that are occurring. I apologize if I read your post wrong but I get that inference.

The city of Chicago is pursuing recovery of $130K in expenses from Smollett. I would think they would seek more than that...

https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/j ... awsuit.amp

Aaron747 wrote:

The city of Chicago is pursuing recovery of $130K in expenses from Smollett. I would think they would seek more than that...

https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/j ... awsuit.amp

I would like see a law that says if you are convicted of a crime like this you have to reimburse the police for the work they did chasing your fake crime without the need for any civil litigation.

Someone who lies under oath is being held accountable. Imagine if this happened in other parts of society....

Pretty upsetting that a guy who was an inspiration to so many decided to do this. I once saw the empire van go by and the whole community was so excited

NIKV69 wrote:

apodino wrote:

What is sad about this case is there is a serious problem with hate crimes and also a fear of black people for whatever reason in our culture. These problems need to be addressed. When you go and stage a hate crime like this, it only harms the very communities that you are a part of because now real victims are less likely to be believed, and more importantly people on the other side point to these people as liars and it becomes a "crying wolf" scenario.

Smollett should do time for what he did here. But let us not forget the real victims of hate crimes that are still very real.

Let us also not forget that white on black crimes are the only hate crimes that are occurring. I apologize if I read your post wrong but I get that inference.

I hope you forgot the word “not” another time in your post.

Otherwise…..

DLPMMM wrote:

NIKV69 wrote:

apodino wrote:

What is sad about this case is there is a serious problem with hate crimes and also a fear of black people for whatever reason in our culture. These problems need to be addressed. When you go and stage a hate crime like this, it only harms the very communities that you are a part of because now real victims are less likely to be believed, and more importantly people on the other side point to these people as liars and it becomes a "crying wolf" scenario.

Smollett should do time for what he did here. But let us not forget the real victims of hate crimes that are still very real.

Let us also not forget that white on black crimes are the only hate crimes that are occurring. I apologize if I read your post wrong but I get that inference.

I hope you forgot the word “not” another time in your post.

Otherwise…..

I certainly did forget. It's ok though I just hope you and all of us can stand with all victims of hate crimes. I will wait for the media to follow suit.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/10/us/jussi ... index.html

150 day time out for Jussie!

Of course the cops and prosecution wanted him to go to jail for years gets about 5 months but will still be a convicted felon for the rest of his life, pending a successful appeal. Sadly his choice to do a set up hate crime has destroyed him, hurt the far too often legit claims of racist abuse to Black persons in America.

dmg626 wrote:

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/10/us/jussie-smollett-sentencing-trial/index.html

150 day time out for Jussie!

Was watching it live. He went down still ranting he is innocent and his family embarrassed themselves basically trying to say he was framed blaming everyone from Trump to Putin. OMG that was hard to watch and it just reinforces how bad some people will take what the media says as fact. Jussie will probably spend 75 days in jail I hope he enjoys it for what he did was a dangerous stunt.

I wish he had gotten more time. Entitled,spoiled,trash like him needs to be made an example of. Im hoping he's disgraced and bankrupted when he comes out after paying restitution. But knowing the amoral degenereacy of Hollywood they will allow him pull a "mea culpa" and reinvent himself. Maybe he'll get a reality show where he "vows to prove his innocence"

He really got off easy.
Hope he enjoys it.

PixelPilot wrote:

He really got off easy.
Hope he enjoys it.

I think this shows that the American justice system isn't systemically racist, rather, it favors those with money. The wealthy can be guilty and get off with far less time opposed to someone without money. I am not saying there are not racist sentences and such in the justice system, rather its not as systemic as some want us to believe. There will always be racists in the world regardless of the attempt to stamp them out, but we should continue to do what we can to stymie them though.

bpatus297 wrote:

PixelPilot wrote:

He really got off easy.
Hope he enjoys it.

I think this shows that the American justice system isn't systemically racist, rather, it favors those with money. The wealthy can be guilty and get off with far less time opposed to someone without money. I am not saying there are not racist sentences and such in the justice system, rather its not as systemic as some want us to believe. There will always be racists in the world regardless of the attempt to stamp them out, but we should continue to do what we can to stymie them though.

'The American justice system' is too general to receive any label. There are particular counties and perhaps states that are systemically racist, and many more that are not. Labeling the entire national system one thing or another is ridiculous because we have such a broad spectrum of public services and administrative competence.

As for wealth privilege in the courts, I have been railing about that here for years. $$ secures privilege.

Look no further than the various scams in 2008 - not a single suit behind bars. If any of us here had created financial products that defrauded investors, we'd not have been so lucky.

Aaron747 wrote:

bpatus297 wrote:

PixelPilot wrote:

He really got off easy.
Hope he enjoys it.

I think this shows that the American justice system isn't systemically racist, rather, it favors those with money. The wealthy can be guilty and get off with far less time opposed to someone without money. I am not saying there are not racist sentences and such in the justice system, rather its not as systemic as some want us to believe. There will always be racists in the world regardless of the attempt to stamp them out, but we should continue to do what we can to stymie them though.

'The American justice system' is too general to receive any label. There are particular counties and perhaps states that are systemically racist, and many more that are not. Labeling the entire national system one thing or another is ridiculous because we have such a broad spectrum of public services and administrative competence.

As for wealth privilege in the courts, I have been railing about that here for years. $$ secures privilege.

Look no further than the various scams in 2008 - not a single suit behind bars. If any of us here had created financial products that defrauded investors, we'd not have been so lucky.

Yet, there are a lot on this board, in the media, and other places that love to paint with the broad bush of labels. As for money and crimes, I am okay with large, very large fines for certain non-violent crimes, but they should be proportionate to the perpetrators income/savings so that the fine stings.

bpatus297 wrote:

Aaron747 wrote:

bpatus297 wrote:

I think this shows that the American justice system isn't systemically racist, rather, it favors those with money. The wealthy can be guilty and get off with far less time opposed to someone without money. I am not saying there are not racist sentences and such in the justice system, rather its not as systemic as some want us to believe. There will always be racists in the world regardless of the attempt to stamp them out, but we should continue to do what we can to stymie them though.

'The American justice system' is too general to receive any label. There are particular counties and perhaps states that are systemically racist, and many more that are not. Labeling the entire national system one thing or another is ridiculous because we have such a broad spectrum of public services and administrative competence.

As for wealth privilege in the courts, I have been railing about that here for years. $$ secures privilege.

Look no further than the various scams in 2008 - not a single suit behind bars. If any of us here had created financial products that defrauded investors, we'd not have been so lucky.

Yet, there are a lot on this board, in the media, and other places that love to paint with the broad bush of labels. As for money and crimes, I am okay with large, very large fines for certain non-violent crimes, but they should be proportionate to the perpetrators income/savings so that the fine stings.

I wasn't and will never be okay with crimes that drastically impacted the retirement savings and nest eggs of millions of fellow citizens.

And calling attention to an issue is not always the same as painting with a broad brush - it just gets interpreted that way because all the nuance is removed once it starts being discussed by morons on both sides via social media.

PixelPilot wrote:

He really got off easy.
Hope he enjoys it.

150 days in jail isn't easy for anyone.

He really is a narcissist though. Ranting, "I am not suicidal. If anything happens to me when I go in there, you must all know that." WTF? It's not Empire anymore. You aren't that important...you're probably going to get favorable treatment because you are famous and your case is being watched.

Aaron747 wrote:

bpatus297 wrote:

Aaron747 wrote:

'The American justice system' is too general to receive any label. There are particular counties and perhaps states that are systemically racist, and many more that are not. Labeling the entire national system one thing or another is ridiculous because we have such a broad spectrum of public services and administrative competence.

As for wealth privilege in the courts, I have been railing about that here for years. $$ secures privilege.

Look no further than the various scams in 2008 - not a single suit behind bars. If any of us here had created financial products that defrauded investors, we'd not have been so lucky.

Yet, there are a lot on this board, in the media, and other places that love to paint with the broad bush of labels. As for money and crimes, I am okay with large, very large fines for certain non-violent crimes, but they should be proportionate to the perpetrators income/savings so that the fine stings.

I wasn't and will never be okay with crimes that drastically impacted the retirement savings and nest eggs of millions of fellow citizens.

And calling attention to an issue is not always the same as painting with a broad brush - it just gets interpreted that way because all the nuance is removed once it starts being discussed by morons on both sides via social media.

I can't wait to see the fines leveled out for the lies that lead to the Jan 6 insurrection. Perhaps then we will know of a true and just level of action by courts. other than that, each person's sentence is always weighted by a judge based on past history and the likelihood to repeat the crime. Those that want more time, are just being vindictive in this case. Or maybe something else.

Pellegrine wrote:

PixelPilot wrote:

He really got off easy.
Hope he enjoys it.

150 days in jail isn't easy for anyone.

He really is a narcissist though. Ranting, "I am not suicidal. If anything happens to me when I go in there, you must all know that." WTF? It's not Empire anymore. You aren't that important...you're probably going to get favorable treatment because you are famous and your case is being watched.

He is a grade A, 10/10 clown. Nothing more. He could have amounted to more than that, but that is the path he has chosen. An unemployable bum.

Pellegrine wrote:

PixelPilot wrote:

He really got off easy.
Hope he enjoys it.

150 days in jail isn't easy for anyone.

He really is a narcissist though. Ranting, "I am not suicidal. If anything happens to me when I go in there, you must all know that." WTF? It's not Empire anymore. You aren't that important...you're probably going to get favorable treatment because you are famous and your case is being watched.

He will only do 75 days, the "I am not suicidal" thing was orchestrated as a way to attack law enforcement and say he was going to get hurt in jail. It's more denial that a liberal town actually handed down a proper sentence. He is a huge narcissist though you are right. I also think he was trying to lay the groundwork for life after jail and a job.

NIKV69 wrote:

Pellegrine wrote:

PixelPilot wrote:

He really got off easy.
Hope he enjoys it.

150 days in jail isn't easy for anyone.

He really is a narcissist though. Ranting, "I am not suicidal. If anything happens to me when I go in there, you must all know that." WTF? It's not Empire anymore. You aren't that important...you're probably going to get favorable treatment because you are famous and your case is being watched.

He will only do 75 days, the "I am not suicidal" thing was orchestrated as a way to attack law enforcement and say he was going to get hurt in jail. It's more denial that a liberal town actually handed down a proper sentence. He is a huge narcissist though you are right. I also think he was trying to lay the groundwork for life after jail and a job.

If he said he is not suicidal, then I would estimate he is probably very suicidal, sad to say. I hope they watch him closely and do not allow him to attempt to martyr himself in the jail. They have enough problems without him doing that.

LCDFlight wrote:

NIKV69 wrote:

Pellegrine wrote:

150 days in jail isn't easy for anyone.

He really is a narcissist though. Ranting, "I am not suicidal. If anything happens to me when I go in there, you must all know that." WTF? It's not Empire anymore. You aren't that important...you're probably going to get favorable treatment because you are famous and your case is being watched.

He will only do 75 days, the "I am not suicidal" thing was orchestrated as a way to attack law enforcement and say he was going to get hurt in jail. It's more denial that a liberal town actually handed down a proper sentence. He is a huge narcissist though you are right. I also think he was trying to lay the groundwork for life after jail and a job.

If he said he is not suicidal, then I would estimate he is probably very suicidal, sad to say. I hope they watch him closely and do not allow him to attempt to martyr himself in the jail. They have enough problems without him doing that.

I was thinking the same thing.

Me smells a bipolar illness in this dude...

LCDFlight wrote:

If he said he is not suicidal, then I would estimate he is probably very suicidal, sad to say. I hope they watch him closely and do not allow him to attempt to martyr himself in the jail. They have enough problems without him doing that.

Highly doubtful people like him will never commit suicide. He never in a million years thought he would get jail time and when he did he had to put more of a show on which included that outburst. It was all theater

.

NIKV69 wrote:

LCDFlight wrote:

If he said he is not suicidal, then I would estimate he is probably very suicidal, sad to say. I hope they watch him closely and do not allow him to attempt to martyr himself in the jail. They have enough problems without him doing that.

Highly doubtful people like him will never commit suicide. He never in a million years thought he would get jail time and when he did he had to put more of a show on which included that outburst. It was all theater

.

Maybe....on the other hand it's completely abnormal and nuts to make up something on the level he did. Sane people don't usually do that.