Jussie Smollett has taken the witness stand in his defense against charges that he arranged a phony hate crime against himself on the night of January 2019.
Jussie Smollett, who was accused of lying to police about an alleged hate crime, has been called to the stand to testify his defense. Smollett is charged with six accounts of disorderly conduct of suspicion of making false reports to police. He had repeatedly denied staging an attack on himself in 2019 when he told police he was the victim of a racist and homophobic attack.
Sworn in around Monday afternoon, the former “Empire” actor started by speaking to jurors about his family life and his history as an entertainer. He then testified that his relationship with Abimbola Osundairo was, in fact, sexual.
Osundairo, one of the prosecution’s key witnesses, told jurors last week that Smollett recruited him to help orchestrate the “fake” hate crime attack.
Smollett met Abimbola Osundairo at a club during season 4 of the hit series “Empire.” He and Abimbola, who Smollett refers to as “Bon,” met in 2017 or 2018 and did drugs one night. Smollett specifically mentioned he and Bon did cocaine and marijuana together, with Smollett supplying the weed and Osundairo getting the cocaine. The two men went to a bathhouse in Boystown together, where they did more drugs and made out, said Smollett.
At a separate bathhouse encounter, he said the two made out again and masturbated next to each other.
On the witness stand last week, Osundairo denied that he and Smollett had ever dated and said he did not think there was sexual tension between the two men. Defense attorneys have also painted Osundairo’s older brother, Olabinjo, as a homophobe.
Smollett said Monday that he and Abimbola struck up a friendship and would drive around smoking blunts as a part of Smollett’s creative process and as a way for him to relax, he said.
Footage of Smollett allegedly driving around town with the Osundairo brothers was presented to the jury by the prosecutors as evidence that they did a “dry run” before the hoax attack.
A music manager, publicist, and doctor have testified on Smollet’s behalf so far, in addition to those called on Monday.
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