Jussie still defiant
Rips ‘dog & pony show’ court hearing
Embattled actor Jussie Smollett returned to court for the first time in more than a year on Wednesday, where he doubled down on his innocence while facing charges over his alleged hate-crime hoax.
Smollett, 39, maintained that he was not guilty of staging a phony hate crime against himself as he entered Cook County Court (right), calling the proceedings a “dog and pony show,” Fox News reported.
The former “Empire” actor appeared for a closed hearing to determine whether one of his attorneys, Nenye Uche, has a conflict of interest representing him in the case.
The hearing concluded without a ruling, and officials did not provide a time table for when it could come down.
Judge James Linn was due to hear testimony from Uche at the hearing, as well as from brothers Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo, whom Smollett knew from the set of Fox’s “Empire.”
The broth- ers allege they were paid by the actor to stage a hate crime against him because he was unhappy with his salary, and they are key witnesses in special prose- cutors’ case against him.
The Osundairos have claimed that Smollett’s attorney, Uche, had previously spoken with them about representing them early in the process, potentially creating a possible conflict of interest, the
Chicago Tribune reported.
The brothers allegedly spoke to the attorney about key details in the case, including whether to turn a check over as evidence to police -- possibly the one Smollett allegedly used to reimburse them for their help, the newspaper reported.
Uche, meanwhile, has denied being involved in conversations with the brothers, the paper reported. The Osundairos’ attorney, Gloria Schmidt Rodriguez, told reporters Wednesday that they were unable to locate phone records from February 2019 that could potentially prove that they had been in contact with Uche.
The brothers, who did not have their own cellphones at the time, could not remember whose device they used for the conversations, Rodriguez said.
The hearing is the latest after Smollett was indicted for a second time on charges of lying to police about being the victim of the alleged attack near his downtown Chicago apartment in January 2019.
The charges came from the special prosecutor who was appointed after Cook County prosecutors dropped their charges that March.
Smollett has insisted he’s innocent and said the case against him is “bulls–t.”
“There is an example being made. And the sad part is that there is an example being made of someone that did not do what they’re being accused of,” Smollett said in a 2020 Instagram Live interview.