In 2019, Jussie Smollett, who played the character Jamal Lyon on the TV show Empire, gained significant attention after he claimed to be the victim of a hate crime. However, investigators later alleged that this act was a staged publicity stunt.
The Netflix documentary “The Truth About Jussie Smollett?” delves into this high-profile incident from the last ten years, probing whether the attack was genuinely motivated by hate or simply an elaborate deception.
On January 29, 2019, Jussie Smollett reported to Chicago police that he had been the victim of a violent hate crime.
According to Smollett, he was attacked by two men wearing masks. They allegedly taunted him with racist and homophobic insults, doused him with bleach, and placed a noose around his neck while invoking the slogan “Make America Great Again” (MAGA).
The story quickly gained international attention and garnered high-profile support from celebrities and politicians.
However, the story took a turn when Chicago police identified the supposed attackers as Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo, two brothers who were known acquaintances of Smollett.
Authorities claimed that Jussie orchestrated the attack himself, paying the brothers to stage the event for publicity purposes.
Investigators pointed to surveillance footage, receipts for props and text messages as evidence.
Abimbola shared with The US Sun, “I was taken aback, thinking, ‘This is unbelievable, just wild. But I suppose outlandish things are common in Hollywood.”
“And I want to be in Hollywood as a professional actor so I guess this is what we do’.
“It was so cold out there so we couldn’t think too much. We just wanted to do it quickly and get ready for our trip to Nigeria.”
He further commented, “I figured helping Jussie, who is already a prominent figure in Hollywood, might boost my own career ambitions as I strive to rise in the industry.”
“When it comes to Hollywood it’s about who you know, not what you know. Who you know is what’s going to get you in the door.”
Abimbola continued: “We didn’t expect it to involve us and we didn’t expect it to involve the police too.
“We only thought it would be a social media thing. We didn’t think it would be that big. This was huge. Enormous.”
In February 2019, Jussie was charged with disorderly conduct for filing a false police report.
He has always maintained his innocence.
Jussie was originally indicted on 16 counts related to his alleged false report, but shortly after, charges were dropped as part of a deal.
In 2021, he was tried again, found guilty on five counts of disorderly conduct and sentenced to jail.
However, the Illinois Supreme Court overturned his conviction in late 2024, citing prosecutorial errors — leaving the matter legally unresolved.
Jussie told Variety: “Every single other person’s story has changed multiple times. Mine has never.
“I saw firsthand how narratives are built. I saw firsthand the way that someone can take the exact opposite of who you are and literally sell it.”
The Truth About Jussie Smollett?
The Truth About Jussie Smollett was produced by the team behind acclaimed documentaries including The Tinder Swindler and Don’t F*** With Cats.
Featuring interviews with law enforcement officials, lawyers, journalists and Jussie himself, the documentary promises to present “new evidence”.
Netflix describes it as a “shocking true story of an allegedly fake story that some now say might just be a true story”, so it seems it will be up to viewers to draw their own conclusions.
The Truth About Jussie Smollett? drops on Netflix on August 22, 2025.
