Field Notes Editors weigh in on hot topics

Try as Hollywood might to manufacture the world’s best storytelling, the sorry saga of Jussie Smollett provides a potent reminder that truth always trumps fiction.

Not even an episode of “Empire,” the outlandish Fox series that employed this wayward actor, could match the utter insanity of what Chicago law enforcement is alleging: that Smollett scripted himself a starring role in a hate crime he staged last month out of some sense of disgruntlement over his TV salary.

This incident is galling on so many levels. But what may be just as appalling as what he did is who the person at the center of this tabloid frenzy is. Here was an actor being paid a reported six-figure sum for each of 22 episodes per season, and if the police are correct, this somehow was such an injustice to him that it led him down the path of committing an incredibly stupid, reckless crime.

It’s shocking enough that Smollett didn’t consider the riskiness of the stunt he’s accused of having pulled. But how dense do you have to be to plot a scheme so scatterbrained that you write a check to your accomplices?

And think of how horrifying a sense of entitlement you have to have in this business to be earning what Smollett did but still feel like it wasn’t enough. Perhaps his legal team will cite the peakTV phenomenon in its criminal defense: If salaries for top talent weren’t skyrocketing due to this explosion of content buyers, Smollett wouldn’t have such a raging case of earnings envy.

His rationale, while reprehensible, isn’t entirely batty: If Smollett had truly been the victim of a hate crime, it could have translated to a career boost. The combination of his name recognition going through the roof and the sympathetic first impression he would have made on consumers likely would have opened new doors to him in Hollywood.

Which leaves a cruel irony that might serve as just deserts for Smollett: Whoever stars in the inevitable movie made about his life could achieve a level of success Smollett robbed himself of the chance to reach.

Think of how horrifying a sense of entitlement you have to have in this business to be earning what Smollett did but still feel like it wasn’t enough.”