Lawyer: Attack on Smollett was real

CHICAGO — Jussie Smollett’s lawyer suggested Thursday an aspiring actor and his brother committed an anti-gay, racist attack against the former “Empire” actor because they didn’t like him, then tried to get him to pay them each $1 million not to testify that he staged the assault.

Defense attorney Shay Allen worked to cast doubt on Abimbola Osundairo’s earlier testimony Smollett recruited him and his brother to stage a fake attack — instructing them on what to do and paying $3,500 to carry it out — because he wanted publicity.

Allen suggested instead the 2019 attack in downtown Chicago was real, and the brothers were motivated to accuse Smollett of staging the hoax because of their dislike of the performer — who is gay and Black — and then saw an opportunity to make money.

He asked Osundairo, who worked as a stand-in on the Chicago set of “Empire,” if he tried to get a $5,000-per-week job as Smollett’s security and if after he was questioned by police and released he told Smollett he and his brother wouldn’t testify at his trial if they were each paid $1 million. Osundairo responded “No sir” to both.

Allen also questioned why Smollett would ask Osundairo and his brother to wait for him outside at 2 a.m. in January, when temperatures were well below freezing and why they would do so.

“You really wanted to carry out this attack,” Allen said.

“This fake attack,” Osundairo quickly responded.

In follow-up questioning by prosecutor Dan Webb,

Osundairo said he never thought Smollett would go to the police to report the fake attack as a real hate crime.

Smollett, 39, is charged with six counts of felony disorderly conduct for making what prosecutors say was a false police report about the alleged attack — one count for each time he gave a report — to three different officers. The class 4 felony carries a prison sentence of up to three years, but experts have said if Smollett is convicted he likely would be placed on probation and ordered to perform community service.