Jussie Smollett ‘Attackers’ Laugh At Actor’s Overturned Conviction, Tell Dan Abrams They Want The Next Jake Paul Match
Jussie Smollett’s conviction for allegedly orchestrating a fake hate crime was overturned, but his admitted accomplices laughed at the thought of the actor being innocent.
Brothers Ola Osundairo and Bola Osundairo joined NewsNation’s Dan Abrams, founder of Mediaite, on Friday to discuss the latest in Smollett’s case. Smollett was convicted for allegedly orchestrating a 2019 hate crime where he claimed two men wearing MAGA hates attacked him, put a noose around his neck, and screamed, “MAGA country” in the early morning in Chicago.
The Illinois Supreme Court overturned Smollett’s conviction after Smollett’s legal team argued the conviction did not stand as it contradicted an original deal Cook County State’s Attorney’s office dropped the initial charges. A special prosecutor later revived the case which led to Smollett facing five convictions in 2021.
Smollett lost his gig on the TV series Empire shortly after critics began poking holes in his claims.
Prosecutors said the overturning of the conviction is not a reflection on his guilt of the original crime. The Supreme Court noted that many felt the original dropping of charges was “unjust.”
Their opinion reads:
We are aware that this case has generated significant public interest and that many people were dissatisfied with the resolution of the original case and believed it to be unjust. Nevertheless, what would be more unjust than the resolution of any one criminal case would be a holding from this court that the State was not bound to honor agreements upon which people have detrimentally relied.
“The Illinois Supreme Court did not find any error with the overwhelming evidence presented at trial that Mr. Smollett orchestrated a fake hate crime and reported it to the Chicago Police Department as a real hate crime, or the jury’s unanimous verdict that Mr. Smollett was guilty of five counts of felony disorderly conduct,” Dan Webb, who was appointed by a Cook County judge to continue looking into the case after the charges were dropped, added in a statement.
The Osundairo brothers have repeatedly detailed their involvement in Smollett’s act, including in a Fox Nation special. According to their testimony, they were paid $3,500 to help make the “attack” look real. Investigators also found surveillance footage showing the brothers buying all of the supplies involved in the fake hate crime.
The brothers joined Abrams on Friday and Abrams noted right off the top Ola Osundairo choice in headwear, which is a version of the MAGA hat that they’re selling. They also authored a book called Bigger Than Jussie.
“As you listened to that account from Jussie again, and I’ve heard it a number of times, I’m sure you have too, but every time I hear it, I still find it to be amazing. What’s your reaction to listening to that today?” Abrams asked.
“My reaction is that Jesse is a great actor. He is good at what he does. And people people really believe him. And I guess that’s what makes a good actor, when people don’t know that you’re acting. But every time I listen to him and I hear him, I’m disappointed because he does not and cannot say the truth,” Bola Osundairo said.
Ola Osundairo said the court’s decision was ultimately “right,” but maintained Smollett is guilty.
“My reaction to the court’s ruling was that it made sense. The real injustice here was the sweetheart deal that [Cook County State’s Attorney] Kim Foxx gave him in the first place, which allowed him to go on and profess his innocence,” he said.
“What happened was he went off and rode off into the sunset [after the charges were dropped] where he said I would not be my mother’s child if I did anything that they said I did. Well, we guess you’re not your mother’s child because you did do it,” Bola Osundairo added.
“Is he still pointing the finger at you guys at this point?” Abrams asked.
“So he never came out and said it was us that did it, but the police said and know that it was us that did it. So he said he was really attacked so he’s now saying it is us. You know, he’s not he never came out and said directly that it was Ola and Bola,” Bola Osundairo said.
“Do you guys hate black people the way that Jussie Smollett?” a laughing Abrams asked the pair.
“Loathe them,” Ola Osundairo joked.
“He loathes them, I guess,” his laughing brother added.
“Because that’s apparently what the attacker is, right? I mean, the attacker here was a racist. Right. And. And you guys are clearly the ones on the video, it’s is clearly you guys who were there. So I guess you guys are the big the racists?” Abrams asked.
“The racist White MAGA Trump supporters. I mean, that’s the narrative. He is white,” Bola Osundairo joked about his brother. “Can’t he pass for a White guy?”
“I think I’d do a pretty good job,” his brother said.
As the pair said they were ready to move on, Ola Osundairo revealed Bola Osundairo wants to next get in the ring with Jake Paul, who is fresh off a fight with Mike Tyson.
“We are very, very looking forward to putting all of this behind. It’s been how long now? Four or five years. We pretty much just want to move on with our acting careers and boxing as well. My brothers should be fighting Jake Paul real soon,” Ola Osundairo said.
“Yes, hopefully, if he accepts the fight, I’ll be fighting Jake Paul,” his brothers added, saying he doesn’t want their “mistake” to “define” them.
Watch above via NewsNation.