Jussie Smollett’s scandalous Kim Kardashian claim that Nigerian brothers say he used to justify hoax hate crime
The Nigerian brothers who convinced Jussie Smollett to stage a bizarre anti-Trump hoax say the disgraced actor justified the stunt by constantly claiming fake incidents of Hollywood A-listers.
Smollett’s conviction was sensationally overturned yesterday by the Illinois Supreme Court in a decision that was widely panned.
It was dismissed due to a legal technicality involving a sweetheart deal offered to Smollett by Cook County District Attorney Kim Foxx.
Today, brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo reacted to the decision by urging Smollett to plead guilty once and for all – and also revealed what he told them when they convinced them to help him stage the hoax .
They said this in an interview with Fox and friends that Smollett specifically alleged that Kim Kardashian staged the shocking 2016 robbery in France that nearly cost her her life.
Kardashian was ‘bound and gagged’ at gunpoint by masked robbers posing as police officers during their stay at l’Hotel de Pourtalès, and stole $10 million worth of luxury jewellery.
The perpetrators were arrested and convicted after a trial in Paris, and there has been no indication from French authorities that the robbery was a hoax.
The Osundairo brothers said Smollett told them it was all “fake.”
Jussie Smollett, seen in court in March 2019, was convicted Thursday of lying to police with a bizarre anti-Trump hoax, in a sensational Illinois Supreme Court ruling
Smollett allegedly told the Nigerian brothers that Kim Kardashian pretended she had been robbed at gunpoint in Paris in 2016. She is seen above crying as she described the incident during an episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians
Abel and Ola Osundairo, the Nigerian brothers who convinced Jussie Smollett to stage a bizarre anti-Trump hoax, say the disgraced actor justified the stunt by continually claiming that Hollywood A-listers had fake incidents .
Explaining the story, Abel said, “(Smollett) made it seem like this is what Hollywood does. He mentioned Kim Kardashian.
“At that time she had an incident where she was robbed and kidnapped in France, and he said that was made up, that it was fake.
“So that’s what I thought, oh, this is what Hollywood does. My brother and I are professional actors and we thought, ‘Oh, this is our introduction to Hollywood.’
Kardashian’s reps did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Smollett’s inflammatory claims.
Smollett’s attorney did not immediately respond to questions about his alleged comments.
Smollett was convicted in December 2021 of lying to police two years earlier about an alleged episode in Chicago where he claimed two men beat him, shouted homophobic slurs and placed a noose around his neck while wearing MAGA hats wore.
It later emerged that he had convinced the Osundairo brothers to organize the attack.
Asked about their reaction to Thursday’s decision, Abel said: ‘We were initially surprised, not because of the Supreme Court’s decision, but because Jussie never admitted guilt.
“We understand that he has the right to a fair trial and that double jeopardy should not and is not allowed in America.
“However, Jussie should have pleaded guilty and that is what we stand for.”
A group of robbers targeted Kardashian to steal her multi-million dollar engagement ring from Kanye West
The scene outside the Paris apartment where Kardashian was robbed in 2016
Kardashian said she thought she was going to be killed that night
Olabinjo added, “So the real injustice here was the sweetheart deal he got from Kim Foxx’s office at the beginning of all this.”
Foxx has said she was confused why so much attention was paid to Smollett’s hoax and said other false police reports are not scrutinized as closely.
But the brothers rejected her argument and Abel said, “It’s a big deal. And the problem is, if it was regular little Joe, John Doe or Ola Osundairo, he wouldn’t get that deal. Jussie got that deal because he has influence and power.
“So it shows that there are two different citizens in America, one with power and one without. And that’s why he got that sweetheart deal.”
The brothers added that they were paid by Smollett but are still owed $500 by the actor, although Olabinjo admitted, “I don’t think we’ll ever see that.”
‘It wasn’t about the money at all. It was more like we were helping a friend,” Abel said.
The actor’s hoax and subsequent arrest caused a media frenzy years ago when it was bizarrely discovered that he had actually paid the Osundairo brothers (pictured) to stage the incident.
Although he initially received a groundswell of support after coming forward with his story, Smollett fell dramatically from favor when investigators said he made it up (seen in his mugshot after his first arrest in 2019).
When Smollett first came forward with his story, the actor received widespread support, and Chicago police vowed to find his attackers quickly. Smollett even showed police the noose with which he claimed he was almost lynched.
Although Smollett claimed he was attacked by two white Trump supporters, detectives reviewed surveillance footage and zeroed in on the Osundairo brothers as suspects.
When Smollett obtained a grainy surveillance photo of the brothers at the scene, he said they were “absolutely” the men who attacked him, not realizing they had already been arrested.
One of his lawyers, Tina Glandian, claimed that Smollett may have misidentified the brothers – with whom he had also just been on the phone – because they could have been “disguised” in white makeup.
She further pointed to a 2016 YouTube video by Abel Osundairo in which he wears white makeup to perform a Joker monologue for Halloween as proof of her theory.
Jussie Smollett’s attorney, Tina Glandian, suggested the reason he told police his Nigerian attackers were white was because they “may be wearing whiteface.” Her proof of the theory was a 2016 video of Abel Osundairo (pictured) dressed as the Joker for Halloween
Police released this image of the brothers walking near the scene of the attack, which Smollett said, without realizing they had been arrested, was “definitely” an image of the men who attacked him.
Despite a grand jury indicting him for repeatedly lying to police, charges against Smollett were sensationally dropped a month later in March, sparking public outrage.
President Trump led the backlash when he labeled the dropping of the charges “an embarrassment to the nation,” while Chicago Police Chief Eddie Johnson, who is black, said at the time: “Jussie Smollett took advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career.”
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel called it a “whitewash of justice” that proved Smollett was treated leniently by the system because he is a celebrity and a prominent figure in the city.
After being fined $140,000 for wasting police resources, a special prosecutor was appointed to investigate why charges against Smollett were dropped.
It was this decision that has now led to Smollett’s eventual conviction being overturned this week, as it was determined that his rights had been violated because Smollett agreed with prosecutors at the time that he would not be charged again after the case against him was withdrawn. .
In February 2020, Smollett was again charged with assault on police, and after a controversial trial in which he maintained his innocence, Smollett was convicted at the end of his trial in 2021.
Smollett sparked backlash again at his sentencing hearing when he triumphantly raised his fist to appear defiant despite being caught in a lie.