It seems as though it depends on who you speak to where the Jussie Smollett case is concerned, but the headlines that are still rolling about it seem to indicate that whether he’s guilty or not, his aim to keep himself relevant is working. Megan Crepeau of the Chicago Tribune is fair enough when it comes to stating just how the case against Jussie has been going, but right now the outrage over the fact that he was let off the hook seems to be contending with the fading idea that he might actually be innocent. and that innocence is drifting out into the sea of public opinion where the waters can get mighty choppy. Had he owned up to what many believe he did this matter might have been settled by now. His career might have taken a massive hit but something tells me that he still would have been accepted in the acting community after a harsh reprimand and possibly some time in jail. Of course that time in jail is debatable since let’s be honest, a lot of celebrities that are deserving of jail or even prison have been kept out largely because it would be a PR nightmare to put them in with hardened criminals and the preservation of their career has always taken precedence.
Frustrated yet? That’s how it seems to go with a lot of celebrities when they get in trouble for doing something foolish and ill-advised, such as paying off two individuals to ‘attack’ them in order to make it look like a racially-motivated hate crime. So many people were willing to jump on the bandwagon when Jussie Smollett was attacked that it looked as though he might be the victim that survived and was heroic enough to tell his tale. But it’s a little too easy to see where that narrative falls short in a few regards. One of those happens to show up in a video that was taken from the bodycam of an officer that met with Smollett, in his APARTMENT no less, where the actor was still wearing the noose that had been slung around his neck. Somehow he seems awfully calm about the matter as he finally takes the noose off, which is one red flag that waves rather flagrantly and yet is still ignored by his supporters. Another one that pops up and starts flapping is why he was let off the hook by the prosecution without having admitted his guilt, which infuriated a great many people since not only did he seem to be getting away with a false claim that might have landed other individuals in jail, but the biggest loss to him was that he wouldn’t be starring in season 6 of Empire. Some might argue that this is a major loss of income, but given that people love drama and will feed on it for as long as possible, Jussie was never in any danger of becoming irrelevant.
But now that a judge has ordered this case to continue he’s going to have to ride things out again and hope that he can continue playing the victim and using whatever cards he has left to try and sidestep justice once again. Do I sound cynical? Yes, probably because many other people that would pull something like this would, after being caught, already be serving time and wondering just why they’d done what they’d done. Smollett is still a free man, still protesting that he’s innocent, and is no doubt hoping like hell that new evidence doesn’t keep surfacing to show just how little he really thought this thing through. The theory that he was doing this for attention due to his personal need to gain more notice and a bigger paycheck from Fox is still a strong and, believe it or not, sound theory. Had he really been a traumatized and shaken individual upon being visited at home by the cops it’s more likely that the noose wouldn’t have still been around his neck and he wouldn’t have appeared nearly as calm. Argue that point all you want, perhaps he was still in shock, maybe he didn’t remember it was there, whatever, but after an attack such as he claims to have been subjected to, the majority of human beings would be quite shaken and nowhere near as calm.
The fact that he still has people supporting him is nothing new and it’s no surprise since many people will at least give him the benefit of doubt and will stand by him even if it’s finally proven that he is lying and did in fact stage everything. If that day comes his supporters will likely claim that he simply made a mistake, had a lapse in judgment, and is truly sorry for what he did. As of right now though he has to be hoping and praying that whoever is brought on to prosecute will somehow just let him off the hook again.
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