Actor Jussie Smollett’s trial date was set after his attorney failed to convince a Chicago judge on Friday to dismiss the case for the alleged hate crime hoax.
Attorney Nenye Uche argued that a prior agreement with the Cook County state attorney’s office for the former “Empire” star to pay a fine and do community service had been fulfilled and proceeding with the case would violate his rights.
“A deal is a deal. That’s ancient principle,” attorney Nenye Uche said, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
But Judge James Linn was not swayed by the attorney’s rudimentary argument and the trial date is set to begin Nov. 29.
Linn also indicated there would be “no cameras of any sort” allowed in the courtroom.
The black and gay actor alleged that he was jumped by two white men hurling homophobic and racists insults at him while donning pro-Trump hats near his home in Chicago back in 2019. Smollett claimed the men put a noose around his neck and proclaimed, “this is MAGA country” while carrying out the supposed crime in Jan. 2019.
Celebrities and public officials were quick to show support for Smollett – at least initially. Vice President Kamala Harris, then a California senator, took to Twitter at the time to call it an “attempted modern day lynching.”
.@JussieSmollett is one of the kindest, most gentle human beings I know. I’m praying for his quick recovery.
This was an attempted modern day lynching. No one should have to fear for their life because of their sexuality or color of their skin. We must confront this hate.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) January 29, 2019
After investigation, police concluded that Smollett made the whole thing up and paid two black male acquaintances $3,500 to stage the fake attack.
Smollett was initially charged with 16 counts of disorderly conduct for making up the scheme but just weeks later the charges were abruptly dropped. The case was later re-examined and a grand jury “returned a six-count indictment charging Jussie Smollett with making four separate false reports to Chicago Police Department officers related” to his fake hate crime.
Harris’ comments about the developments were notably absent this time.
@KamalaHarris is unavailable for comment
— B.A. Meyer (@gwpbrianw) October 15, 2021
However, the renewed interest in the case may provide more fodder for comedian Dave Chappelle who leaves no topic untouched and recently made headlines for defending in a comedy routine that gender is a fact.
‘I love it’: Dave Chappelle sticks it to haters trying to cancel him over Netflix show, gets standing O https://t.co/t9aMqOgrZq pic.twitter.com/Z5Ti6aDlwi
— Conservative News (@BIZPACReview) October 8, 2021
In 2019, Chappelle brought a crowd to tears about the Smollett incident as he dissected the racism and mocked the actor whose name he pronounced “Juicy Smooyay.”
“If you’re racist and homophobic you’re not even going to know who this n**** is,” Chappelle quipped. “You can’t watch Empire!”
(Video Credit: Netflix)
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