On Jan. 29, the Chicago Police Department (CPD) responded to a call about a hate crime involving Jussie Smollett, a Black and gay actor known for his work in the show Empire.
Smollett alleged that he had been attacked by two men wearing ski masks, who yelled racist and homophobic slurs at him, tied a noose around his neck and shouted “This is a MAGA country!” before running away.
Smollett suffered no serious injuries, but he said he believed he was targeted because of his frequent public political criticism of U.S. President Donald Trump. The CPD launched an investigation for the hate crime, which eventually lead to the arrest of two brothers, one of whom also worked on the Empire set.
The police have records of the two purchasing the rope that was tied around Smollett’s neck. However, the brothers admitted during an interrogation that Smollett paid them $3,500 to stage the crime. Checking Smollett’s bank records proved their claims. With a connection to the victim and evidence that linked them to the crime, all the police had to do was to fill out paperwork. A statement issued by the CPD said they “can confirm that the information received from the individuals questioned by police earlier in the Empire case has in fact shifted the trajectory of the investigation.”
On Feb. 20, Smollett officially became a suspect in his own case. Smollett is believed to have staged the assault in order to boost his own publicity, given that he wasn’t earning his desired salary on set. He had initially sent himself a racist, homophobic letter that arrived on the Empire set. However, when it didn’t spark the outcry he wanted, he planned the bogus attack. Smollett was arrested for staging the crime and charged with making a fake police report. He was released on a $10,000 bond.
When people take it upon themselves to fake an assault, it is usually to shed light on a much greater political issue. An example of this is the William Whittaker case of 1880, when the only Black cadet at the United States Military Academy faked his own assault. Given that he was a person of colour, he wasn’t paid much attention, and often fell short in both his academic and social life. The “attack” was his solution to gain more attention within his social group.
While it is true that Smollett used the attack as a tool to promote his career, it was also to raise awareness of the stigma around racial diversity and the LGBTQ+ community in America. For example, before the attack was proven to be staged, it provoked many high-profile figures to speak out about how homophobia and racism are still present in society.
However, most argue that Smollett’s unorthodox methods of attention-seeking will only cause further damage to the cause, as he draws more attention towards his publicity stunt than actually uncovering and discussing topics of homophobia and racism.
Smollett’s actions are reflective of a society that is mainly driven by a herd mentality. The herd mentality explains how easily a large group of people can be influenced by their peers or a public figure, typically based off of an emotional reaction rather than a rational one.
Smollett’s actions appear to be nothing more than a ploy to make Trump supporters look bad and to advance his own career. It feels as though his claims about raising awareness for people of colour and the LGBTQ+ community were a ploy to distract us from the real reason he faked this assault—to paint the picture that Trump supporters are violent and dangerous in order to sway the public from re-electing Trump in the 2020 U.S. federal election.
Smollett made a clever calculation on the basis of this mentality in an attempt to promote his career. The ironic thing is that his hoax resulted in his pariah status that he is unlikely to recover from.
