One thing you can say about an article on Jussie Smollett by Maeve McDermott from USA Today is that she’s fair-handed and doesn’t really blast him like so many people do. The other thing you could follow up with is that he kind of deserves it, but once again it’s not something you might do if you believe that he deserves a little less criticism and a lot more understanding. Well, that’s not this article. I won’t bother putting the guy on blast since others have done this quite well in the recent past but I will gladly point out that this seems to be a trend that’s gone on for too long when it comes to celebrities, the act of trying to get away with something that ordinary citizens would be locked away for. What’s even worse is that he’s had the gall to continually deny the charges that were mounted against him even in the face of evidence that continued to be brought forth. Now it seems that it’s come to light that he bought various drugs from the two brothers that he allegedly paid to beat him up while throwing racial slurs at him.
German Lopez and Amanda Sakuna from Vox do a good job of reminding everyone just why Jussie isn’t that great of a person, and it has everything to do with his alleged ‘beating’ that took place a while back. Those that still believe he was beaten severely and left on the ground might need to take a closer look at the facts that have been discovered, and the travesty of justice that occurred as his case was dropped somehow and he was allowed to get off with community service. Yes he was kicked off of Empire, and yes it would seem that his career hasn’t recovered yet, but as a lot of us who aren’t celebrities know, that’s the risk you take when you decide to break the law. It’s more amusing than anything to think that he was let go because he’s not deemed a threat to the community, which could be taken in many different ways. But the amusement ends when you figure that had anyone outside of Hollywood made such an accusation and falsified a police report, we’d be headed to prison without delay and without a high-priced lawyer stating that we’d been ‘vilified’. That he’s rich enough hire someone fully dedicated, educated, and ready to champion his cause isn’t the issue, it’s the fact that even when faced with mounting evidence against him, Smollett was given an out, just like many other celebrities have been given in the past.
This rhetoric is pretty common and at least 50 percent true at any given time, as there are many reasons why folks like Jussie wouldn’t be shuffled off to prison. Wealth, power, influence, a promising career, contributions to their community, jail overcrowding, etc. This doesn’t excuse their actions or their crimes, but it’s obvious that celebrities do have far more advantages when it comes to legal cases and therefore are able to get off the hook with lesser charges far more often than the average individual. As for the loss of reputation, this is laughable despite the fact that an actor losing their reputation is in some cases quite serious since many times that’s all they have to go on. But as many people tend to agree, you shouldn’t be doing the crime if you can’t handle the consequences. Jussie knew that falsifying a police report was a bad idea, and instead of thinking it through he decided to go ahead with and take the attention he thought it might bring him. Anyone that wants to deny this must also think that Colin Kaepernick had pure motives when he took a knee while his career in the NFL was swiftly trending towards the bench. It’s a very obvious ploy folks, and one that many people before Jussie have used, whether anyone wants to admit it or not. Find a way to generate buzz, ride it out for good or ill, and then sit back and laugh as folks start to realize that no publicity is truly good or bad so long as it comes.
On top of that, Jussie is an actor, and a good one from what many people would say, so the appearance of being wounded in spirit, of seeming as though he’s feeling actual human emotions, are not as easy to identify but are very easy for him emulate the moment he needs people to believe him. It sounds cynical doesn’t it? Calling Jussie out for his poor behavior and less than intelligent actions seems like something that only a heartless monster would do, right? Honestly, the intelligence, or lack thereof, of someone that thinks creating a false police report with a racist lean is something that’s hard to debate in a kind-hearted manner.
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