WAS JUSSIE’S ATTACK A HOAX?

IT WAS less than a month ago that actor and singer JUSSIE SMOLLETT suffered what appeared to be a nasty beating in Chicago (Have You Heard, 14 February), but now in a shocking twist doubts have been cast over his version of events.

Shortly after Jussie (36) made a tearful appearance on breakfast show Good Morning America, police questioned two Nigerian-born brothers, OLA and ABEL OSUNDAIRO. It’s claimed the two men – who’ve since been released – are no strangers to the Empire star, with one having played a minor role on the show and the other having been his personal trainer.

Bizarrely, insiders now claim the actor paid the two men to orchestrate the attack on him.

Jussie described being beaten and having a noose tightened around his neck but sources inside the investigation believe he might have paid the brothers $3 500 (R49 000) to assault him. Abel and Ola reportedly told detectives the actor had instructed them to buy the items used in the attack and they even did a practice run beforehand, according to CBS.

Prior to the attack a threatening letter was sent to the Empire set addressed to Jussie. The letter read, “You will die, black f*g” in cutout letters and featured a drawing of a man being shot and hung from a noose. Sources allege that when police raided the brothers’ home they found magazines with pages torn out. Authorities are now trying to determine if the missing pages are connected to the hate mail. A Chicago police spokesperson has announced that “the information received from the individuals questioned by police earlier in the Empire case has shifted the trajectory of the investigation” and they were looking to set up another interview with the star. Jussie’s lawyers have hit back, claiming the actor felt victimised by reports that he played a role in the assault, adding that, “Nothing is further from the truth and anyone claiming otherwise is lying.”

‘Nothing is further from the truth and anyone claiming otherwise is lying’