Kamogelo Muvhenzhe
US actor Jussie Smollett has been found guilty of lying to the police about a racist and homophobic hate crime.
Smollett who played the part of Jamal Lyon on popular soapie Empire told police in January 2019 that he was approached by two masked men near his home in Chicago who assaulted him and spewed racial and homophobic slurs at him.
The actor also alleged that during the attack, an “unknown chemical substance” was dumped on him and a noose put around his neck.
But on closed circuit television images and the cell phone data of Smollett and his two alleged attackers the police found that the actor had orchestrated the whole thing.
It was later discovered that he paid brothers Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo R56,000 to stage the crime.
He now faces up to three years in prison and his attorney says he will appeal.
“The jury in the case of Jussie Smollett have found Mr Smollett guilty of five of six counts of disorderly conduct,” a spokesperson for the Cook County Circuit Court said on Thursday.
Smollett was fired from Empire following the scandal.
Image source: @JussieSmollet
