Netflix viewers have spotted a bizarre detail in the new Jussie Smollett documentary in which he breaks his five-year silence to defend himself over the staged attack hoax that ruined his career.
Smollett made headlines worldwide in January 2019 when the celebrity was reported to have been assaulted in a racist and homophobic attack outside his apartment building.
The two attackers were work acquaintances of Smollett’s from the TV show Empire and later claimed he had paid them to carry out the staged attack for publicity.
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Smollett was indicted on multiple charges of filling a false police report and served time in county jail for this crime.
In the new documentary on Netflix, titled The Truth About Jussie Smollett? however, an even more sinister suggestion is made: that Smollett was genuinely attacked and that the entire thing was a hoax brought about by the Chicago Police Department.
The two acquaintances of Smollett’s who are long believed to have been paid to carry out the attack by the actor are Akimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo, both of whom are black and of Nigerian heritage.
This was one of the first details that is thought to have raised alarm bells about the supposed racist attack, in which they poured bleach on the mixed-race actor and told him he was in ‘MAGA Country’.
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In the documentary, Smollett claims that the payment he made to the pair was actually for herbal steroids and there was a separate pair of white men who carried out the attack who were never investigated.
The Netflix doc, however, has been largely slammed by both viewers and critics, with viewers in particular picking out details left out of the Netflix doc.
The Guardian’s Hannah J Davies called the documentary ‘irresponsible’ and ‘flimsy’ in their two-star review, claiming that those making the claims that the whole thing was a Chicago PD-supported hoax were not experts on the matter and yet were lent credibility as if they were.
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One fan on a Reddit thread discussing the doc commented ‘I always pick up my subway sandwich after being attacked’, while another replied saying: “With a noose still around my neck.”
After the attack, Smollett was shown still walking into his apartment with a sandwich he had bought and, when police arrived, he had not yet taken the noose off his neck.
When police arrived, they asked if he wanted to take it off, to which he replied: “Yeah I do, I just wanted you to see it.”
Fans felt that, by not addressing these in the documentary, it pointed towards Smollett not yet fully explaining inconsistencies with his story. A black Chicago police officer speaking in the documentary spoke about how he felt it was bizarre and he didn't know anyone who would willingly keep a noose on their neck in that situation.
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Another comment said: “I think he lied and I think the documentary was trash. They did not adequately explain 'both sides' at all.
“They never asked Jussie any hard questions, just allowed him to give his account with no push back.
“They outlined the police’s case (very strong imo) and then threw in a bunch of things in the last 20 minutes to make audiences doubt the police.”
The Truth about Jussie Smollett? is available to watch on Netflix now.
Topics: Celebrity, Crime, Documentaries, Netflix, TV, TV and Film, True Crime
Michael Slavin