Main Pop Girl Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 Quote “Empire” star Jussie Smollett is recovering from an attack that allegedly went down just as he landed in Chicago and included the use of a chemical substance. The 35-year-old actor had traveled from New York on Monday night, as “Empire” is filmed in Chicago where Smollett has a residence. The Chicago PD tells The Blast they received a report of a possible “racially-charged” assault and battery involving a cast member of the show “Empire.” The narrative from cops describes Smollett walking down the street near his residence when two unknown people approached and began yelling out “racial” and “homophobic” slurs towards him. The offenders began to “batter the victim with their hands” and “poured an unknown chemical substance” on Smollett, later described as bleach. Cops say they were told a rope was also wrapped around Smollett’s neck before the two guys fled the scene. Smollett transported himself to a local hospital and is reportedly in “good condition.” Chicago police now say during a follow-up interview with Smollett, he recalled the suspects shouting about “MAGA Country.” Cops are investigating the incident as a possible hate crime. According to ThatGrapeJuice.net, Jussie Smollett has received previous threats that appeared to be racially charged. The threat sent to Smollett included hate speech and a stick figure drawing of a person with a gun to their head. I don't really care for him or his show, but the idea that this kind of random act of violence can occur to anyone of us is seriously terrifying. I'm keeping him in my thoughts and hoping for his quick recovery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heartbreak Anthem Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 I've been truly speechless since I heard this yesterday. The fact that this is fucking happening in 2019 is purely unacceptable behaviour. It's disgusting, repulsive and unacceptable. I hope they're caught, persecuted and put away. And can we stop calling it an "alleged" hate crime, because it is a hate crime. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whoknowsmehere Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 I am not saying this did not happen the way he said it did. I was not there. But we have to wait until the full investigation is complete. There are now reports coming out that it may have not happened the way he is saying it happened. It is quite obvious by the injuries that something happened. And he did not do this to himself. That much seems quite clear. https://pjmedia.com/trending/shifting-stories-cloud-claims-of-alleged-hate-crime-attack-targeting-empire-actor-jussie-smollett/ And Yes, by the wounds some type of an attack occurred. We just don't have all the facts yet to know for sure if it was homophobic, i.e, a hate crime or not. The police are now saying that so far the video evidence they have been able to review of the attack does not coincide with what Jussie Smollett is saying. Again, I am not saying it did not happen the way he is saying it happened. But please let's wait until the full investigation is complete. There may be more video of the incident they have not found yet. And they have not yet questioned all the witnesses. If it did happen the way he is saying it happened, than whoever did it should be punished to the full extent of the law. Examples of hate crimes that were not: An African American man called police to report that someone had painted hate speech on his garage door. After police did their investigation it was revealed that the man did it to himself. A young African American girl reported that she was kidnapped and assaulted by some white guys and they used a knife to scrawl hate speech on her body. After the investigation was complete, it turns out she had run away from home, and when she decided to go back home, she did this to herself (yes, including the hate speech scrawled on her body with a knife) in order as not to get in trouble with her parents. A woman was having issues with her husband. And after an argument she went to the police and reported that her husband had beat her up. And she had the bruises to prove it. Or so the police thought. The bruises were real, but the story she told was a complete fabrication. Later in the investigation, video was found taken from an elevator showing the woman doing the damage to herself by punching herself in the face a number of times. And with the most recent MAGA kids debacle, we really need to be careful not to jump to conclusions. In the most recent case it turns out that it was not the kids that were the instigators, (unless of course you are of the mindset that just the mere fact of them being there was instigation enough)? I do not thing that myself. It turns out that it appears it was the Native American gentleman, along with the 5 Black Jewish men that came up to them that were doing the taunting. Many news outlets have come forward and admitted they got it wrong. Even CNN said that this story has put a bad light on the News Media. I know my opinions on this matter may not be well received by some here on PHF. But that's ok. Are hate crimes a real thing? Of course they are. But I also believe that as a society we are so divided, that we don't always look at the whole picture before making an informed judgement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Main Pop Girl Posted January 31, 2019 Author Share Posted January 31, 2019 7 hours ago, Whoknowsmehere said: I am not saying this did not happen the way he said it did. I was not there. But we have to wait until the full investigation is complete. There are now reports coming out that it may have not happened the way he is saying it happened. It is quite obvious by the injuries that something happened. And he did not do this to himself. That much seems quite clear. https://pjmedia.com/trending/shifting-stories-cloud-claims-of-alleged-hate-crime-attack-targeting-empire-actor-jussie-smollett/ And Yes, by the wounds some type of an attack occurred. We just don't have all the facts yet to know for sure if it was homophobic, i.e, a hate crime or not. The police are now saying that so far the video evidence they have been able to review of the attack does not coincide with what Jussie Smollett is saying. Again, I am not saying it did not happen the way he is saying it happened. But please let's wait until the full investigation is complete. There may be more video of the incident they have not found yet. And they have not yet questioned all the witnesses. If it did happen the way he is saying it happened, than whoever did it should be punished to the full extent of the law. Examples of hate crimes that were not: An African American man called police to report that someone had painted hate speech on his garage door. After police did their investigation it was revealed that the man did it to himself. A young African American girl reported that she was kidnapped and assaulted by some white guys and they used a knife to scrawl hate speech on her body. After the investigation was complete, it turns out she had run away from home, and when she decided to go back home, she did this to herself (yes, including the hate speech scrawled on her body with a knife) in order as not to get in trouble with her parents. A woman was having issues with her husband. And after an argument she went to the police and reported that her husband had beat her up. And she had the bruises to prove it. Or so the police thought. The bruises were real, but the story she told was a complete fabrication. Later in the investigation, video was found taken from an elevator showing the woman doing the damage to herself by punching herself in the face a number of times. And with the most recent MAGA kids debacle, we really need to be careful not to jump to conclusions. In the most recent case it turns out that it was not the kids that were the instigators, (unless of course you are of the mindset that just the mere fact of them being there was instigation enough)? I do not thing that myself. It turns out that it appears it was the Native American gentleman, along with the 5 Black Jewish men that came up to them that were doing the taunting. Many news outlets have come forward and admitted they got it wrong. Even CNN said that this story has put a bad light on the News Media. I know my opinions on this matter may not be well received by some here on PHF. But that's ok. Are hate crimes a real thing? Of course they are. But I also believe that as a society we are so divided, that we don't always look at the whole picture before making an informed judgement. Speaking of news media, it's important to recognise that the website you linked to is described in a quick Google search by Wikipedia a "conservative" opinion blog, with articles including 'Actually, Women Do Regret Their Abortions' and saying that conversion therapy should be legal. Just one look at their homepage will show that they have a massively pro-Trump agenda, and given the racial tensions that he himself has caused I wouldn't be surprised if they have their own discriminatory views too. It's also important to note the negative, and often misleading subtext their articles have. In the article on this issue, they say that there have been "conflicting versions of the incident from Smollett himself", even though Smollett has made no public statement about the incident and everything we've heard has been from news outlets that may or may not have contact with him. They also say that it's impossible for him to recognise their race or gender because they're wearing ski masks, when of course someone can absolutely tell someone's gender from the sound of their voice. Like you said, we don't know 100% that this is a hate crime yet but given the prevalence of racially and sexually charged attacks in society I really don't think it's that much of a stretch to believe it is. I'd also recommend avoiding sites with such obvious bias as "PJMedia" if I were you, but you do you sis. ??♀️ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Main Pop Girl Posted January 31, 2019 Author Share Posted January 31, 2019 10 hours ago, Ruthless Love said: I've been truly speechless since I heard this yesterday. The fact that this is fucking happening in 2019 is purely unacceptable behaviour. It's disgusting, repulsive and unacceptable. I hope they're caught, persecuted and put away. And can we stop calling it an "alleged" hate crime, because it is a hate crime. Legally, media outlets have to avoid making definitive claims on whether or not it's a hate crime so that they don't get sued for misrepresenting the facts. It's just the way it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whoknowsmehere Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 1 hour ago, Skinny Legend said: Speaking of news media, it's important to recognise that the website you linked to is described in a quick Google search by Wikipedia a "conservative" opinion blog, with articles including 'Actually, Women Do Regret Their Abortions' and saying that conversion therapy should be legal. Just one look at their homepage will show that they have a massively pro-Trump agenda, and given the racial tensions that he himself has caused I wouldn't be surprised if they have their own discriminatory views too. It's also important to note the negative, and often misleading subtext their articles have. In the article on this issue, they say that there have been "conflicting versions of the incident from Smollett himself", even though Smollett has made no public statement about the incident and everything we've heard has been from news outlets that may or may not have contact with him. They also say that it's impossible for him to recognise their race or gender because they're wearing ski masks, when of course someone can absolutely tell someone's gender from the sound of their voice. Like you said, we don't know 100% that this is a hate crime yet but given the prevalence of racially and sexually charged attacks in society I really don't think it's that much of a stretch to believe it is. I'd also recommend avoiding sites with such obvious bias as "PJMedia" if I were you, but you do you sis. ??♀️ I understand your skepticism regarding certain news outlets that may lean a certain way. i.e., "Conservative". Are you saying that we should only trust sites that tend to lean Liberal? Isn't that part of the problem? So we should only believe sites that we agree with? Please understand I am not in any way saying this did not happen the way he is saying it happened. I just believe we should not rush to judgement until the full investigation has been completed. Regardless of what side of any particular issue we may come down on, Rushing to judgement is something that I believe is what is wrong with society today. As I stated in my original comments. "if this happened the way he said it happened. Then the people responsible should be held accountable to the full extent of the Law. Here are a few other sites that are basically running the same story as the one from PJ Media. Not exactly what you would call A bastion of "Conservativism". https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/tv/ct-ent-empire-actor-attacked-20190129-story.html http://www.cwbchicago.com/2019/01/update-tv-star-told-cops-to-turn-off.html https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6648733/Empire-star-Jussie-Smollett-declined-24-7-security-just-ONE-week-ago.html Police release photos of “persons of interest” in attack By DON BABWINJanuary 31, 2019 Excerpt from the article: Guglielmi said detectives, who are investigating the allegations as a possible hate crime, have looked at hundreds of hours of surveillance video from businesses and hotels in the heavily monitored area. But he said they still need to collect and view more. He said they are expanding the search to include footage from public buses and buildings beyond the scene’s immediate vicinity in the hopes of spotting the men who match Smollett’s description of the suspects. “We haven’t seen anybody, at this point, matching the description he gave. Nobody looks menacing, and we didn’t find a container anywhere,” Guglielmi said, referring to a container for the liquid that the actor said was thrown at him. https://www.apnews.com/499db3d5b9e84053aff9f391fe7f514a "I'd also recommend avoiding sites with such obvious bias as "PJMedia" if I were you, but you do you sis" Thank you for the words of advice. But I am one who likes to see both sides of an issue before making up his mind. And on this issue, my mind is not made up yet, except to agree that yes, a crime does appear to have been committed. Whether it is a Hate Crime or not? I will reserve judgment until the full investigation has been completed. And if it does end up in the end that it is determined that his Sexual orientation and or color of his skin was the basis for any attack. Throw that Damn book at them. Either way though. Whoever did this for whatever reason deserves what is coming to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whoknowsmehere Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 Updated article on the attack. Hopefully we are getting closer to the full story. https://abc7chicago.com/video-shows-potential-persons-of-interest-in-empire-actor-attack-police-say/5113489/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Main Pop Girl Posted February 1, 2019 Author Share Posted February 1, 2019 21 hours ago, Whoknowsmehere said: I understand your skepticism regarding certain news outlets that may lean a certain way. i.e., "Conservative". Are you saying that we should only trust sites that tend to lean Liberal? Isn't that part of the problem? So we should only believe sites that we agree with? Please understand I am not in any way saying this did not happen the way he is saying it happened. I just believe we should not rush to judgement until the full investigation has been completed. Regardless of what side of any particular issue we may come down on, Rushing to judgement is something that I believe is what is wrong with society today. As I stated in my original comments. "if this happened the way he said it happened. Then the people responsible should be held accountable to the full extent of the Law. Here are a few other sites that are basically running the same story as the one from PJ Media. Not exactly what you would call A bastion of "Conservativism".https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/tv/ct-ent-empire-actor-attacked-20190129-story.html http://www.cwbchicago.com/2019/01/update-tv-star-told-cops-to-turn-off.html https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6648733/Empire-star-Jussie-Smollett-declined-24-7-security-just-ONE-week-ago.html Police release photos of “persons of interest” in attack By DON BABWINJanuary 31, 2019 Excerpt from the article: Guglielmi said detectives, who are investigating the allegations as a possible hate crime, have looked at hundreds of hours of surveillance video from businesses and hotels in the heavily monitored area. But he said they still need to collect and view more. He said they are expanding the search to include footage from public buses and buildings beyond the scene’s immediate vicinity in the hopes of spotting the men who match Smollett’s description of the suspects. “We haven’t seen anybody, at this point, matching the description he gave. Nobody looks menacing, and we didn’t find a container anywhere,” Guglielmi said, referring to a container for the liquid that the actor said was thrown at him.https://www.apnews.com/499db3d5b9e84053aff9f391fe7f514a "I'd also recommend avoiding sites with such obvious bias as "PJMedia" if I were you, but you do you sis" Thank you for the words of advice. But I am one who likes to see both sides of an issue before making up his mind. And on this issue, my mind is not made up yet, except to agree that yes, a crime does appear to have been committed. Whether it is a Hate Crime or not? I will reserve judgment until the full investigation has been completed. And if it does end up in the end that it is determined that his Sexual orientation and or color of his skin was the basis for any attack. Throw that Damn book at them. Either way though. Whoever did this for whatever reason deserves what is coming to them. I don't think that we should only read "liberal"-leaning websites, because like you said that's no better than "conservative"-leaning websites. But I do think that we should try and find websites that are as unbiased as possible. And regardless of which way a website leans, I certainly wouldn't visit a website that encourages people to post such vile things in the comments section as: Quote They sure did jump and quick too.....just like that other guy that was president....whats iz name? Oh...yaah.. Obama ... aka; 'The Muslim In Chief'' .... Black is always ''right'' and white is always ''wrong'' ..... h 0 m 0.. good.... heterosexual .... BAD! Quote Liberalism is a mental illness. Quote Blacks after democrats abortion are only 12% of the population So half of that Is 6% black men who commit 45% of all murders and 95% of all black murders Quote His boyfriends were riding him like a bucking bronco yelling "giddy-up"...... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whoknowsmehere Posted February 1, 2019 Share Posted February 1, 2019 2 hours ago, Skinny Legend said: 2 hours ago, Skinny Legend said: I don't think that we should only read "liberal"-leaning websites, because like you said that's no better than "conservative"-leaning websites. But I do think that we should try and find websites that are as unbiased as possible. And regardless of which way a website leans, I certainly wouldn't visit a website that encourages people to post such vile things in the comments section as: Quote They sure did jump and quick too.....just like that other guy that was president....whats iz name? Oh...yaah.. Obama ... aka; 'The Muslim In Chief'' .... Black is always ''right'' and white is always ''wrong'' ..... h 0 m 0.. good.... heterosexual .... BAD! Quote Liberalism is a mental illness. Quote Blacks after democrats abortion are only 12% of the population So half of that Is 6% black men who commit 45% of all murders and 95% of all black murders Quote His boyfriends were riding him like a bucking bronco yelling "giddy-up"...... My friend. You make some very valid points. And I cannot disagree with any of what you have said. Including the examples you have quoted. But if we are being honest with ourselves, we do have to admit that this kind of rhetoric takes place on both sides. And it is wrong no matter who it is that is making those type of comments. However, the point I am still attempting to make is that we do not have the full story yet. Once the full story comes out, then and only then should we come to any type of conclusion as to what really happened. At that point, I will have no problem excepting whatever the outcome is. My main reason for saying this, is, that when you add Hate Crime (at least in my Country) to the equation, at that point, any conviction for the crime can add years to the sentence. And we must be 100 percent sure before we do that. It is being now reported that he is refusing to turn over his phone records, which by his and his managers accounts, would show that they were talking to each other at the time of the attack. The phone records would go a long way in helping to prove or disprove his side of the story. The police could attempt to have a court order him or the phone company turn over the records. I just want the truth to come out. Where ever that leads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Main Pop Girl Posted February 11, 2019 Author Share Posted February 11, 2019 On 2/1/2019 at 5:38 PM, Whoknowsmehere said: My friend. You make some very valid points. And I cannot disagree with any of what you have said. Including the examples you have quoted. But if we are being honest with ourselves, we do have to admit that this kind of rhetoric takes place on both sides. And it is wrong no matter who it is that is making those type of comments. However, the point I am still attempting to make is that we do not have the full story yet. Once the full story comes out, then and only then should we come to any type of conclusion as to what really happened. At that point, I will have no problem excepting whatever the outcome is. My main reason for saying this, is, that when you add Hate Crime (at least in my Country) to the equation, at that point, any conviction for the crime can add years to the sentence. And we must be 100 percent sure before we do that. It is being now reported that he is refusing to turn over his phone records, which by his and his managers accounts, would show that they were talking to each other at the time of the attack. The phone records would go a long way in helping to prove or disprove his side of the story. The police could attempt to have a court order him or the phone company turn over the records. I just want the truth to come out. Where ever that leads. I don't know what kind of websites you're on, but the more "liberal" leaning websites I peruse don't feature rhetoric that belittles or attacks people who aren't white or straight. Granted, they may mock certain politicians, but only ones that I think are fair game given their own prior comments, and I don't think I've ever seen someone who's a victim of an attack been mocked on the websites I visit. Regardless, despite all the negativity about this issue it seems as though we're one step closer to finding out the truth. Quote Last week, The Post traced Smollett’s likely route to the underpass from a 24-hour Subway sandwich shop where he bought a tuna sandwich and a salad. Near the foot of a stairwell to the Loews, The Post found an empty hot-sauce bottle that was partially filled with a clear liquid that smelled like bleach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whoknowsmehere Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 @Skinny Legend Thank you for your added comments on this subject. However, I am going to wait until all the facts are in, and the police conclude their investigation before making any further comments. Until 'all' the facts are in, all we are doing is speculating as to what actually happened that night. As I have stated before, all I want is the complete truth to come out. My friend, let's finish this discussion once the investigation is complete. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whoknowsmehere Posted February 17, 2019 Share Posted February 17, 2019 @Skinny Legend it would appear that his story is beginning to fall apart at the seams. You cannot say this is from some Right Wing Conservative news site. CNN is now reporting that police sources are telling them they now believe Smollett orchestrated the whole thing, and paid the two brothers to take part. Https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/16/entertainment/jussie-smollett-attack/index.html If true, and I believe it is at this point, he is facing some serious jail time. I heard up to 3 years in prison as it would be considered a felony. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heartbreak Anthem Posted February 17, 2019 Share Posted February 17, 2019 There are too many conflicting reports about this, and the press are not help the situation. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Main Pop Girl Posted February 19, 2019 Author Share Posted February 19, 2019 On 2/17/2019 at 1:43 PM, Whoknowsmehere said: @Skinny Legend it would appear that his story is beginning to fall apart at the seams. You cannot say this is from some Right Wing Conservative news site. CNN is now reporting that police sources are telling them they now believe Smollett orchestrated the whole thing, and paid the two brothers to take part. Https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/16/entertainment/jussie-smollett-attack/index.html If true, and I believe it is at this point, he is facing some serious jail time. I heard up to 3 years in prison as it would be considered a felony. I'm sure the truth will come to light one way or another, but the whole "he orchestrated his own crime" thing just doesn't add up to me. He's a relatively well known performer with a starring role on a hit TV show...Why would he give all that up just for a poorly executed fake crime that would fall apart in minutes of questioning? I think what we'll have to see is if there's any recent documented exchanges between the brothers and Smollett. If there is, it's likely he did set it up himself; if not, it's possible they're just playing on the public's belief that Smollett is lying to try and get out of a crime they did in fact commit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whoknowsmehere Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 (edited) 7 hours ago, Skinny Legend said: I'm sure the truth will come to light one way or another, but the whole "he orchestrated his own crime" thing just doesn't add up to me. He's a relatively well known performer with a starring role on a hit TV show...Why would he give all that up just for a poorly executed fake crime that would fall apart in minutes of questioning? I think what we'll have to see is if there's any recent documented exchanges between the brothers and Smollett. If there is, it's likely he did set it up himself; if not, it's possible they're just playing on the public's belief that Smollett is lying to try and get out of a crime they did in fact commit. I honestly had never heard of him until all this started. There are way to many coincidences coming out to say he was net involved. Even a alot of high profile individuals who imediately came out in support of him, are now now backing away from that support. Including All Sharpton and another Civil Rights Leader, who said, "He could have started a Race war". He has hired a high priced defense attorney, as well as a very high priced PR firm. And is refusing to meet again with the police investigators. The two brothers rolled over on him when they were initially arrested, and are now material witnesses. A Grand Jury is apparently being seated to hear testimony. That does not happen unless the authorities believe they have something to go on. As I have stated, I had never heard of him prior to this incident. So I have no skin in this game. But at this point, I am afraid it is not looking good for Jussie Smollett. Maybe that will change with time? We will see. Edited February 19, 2019 by Whoknowsmehere Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.png.dcd-a1ca51eeace2d6b28f1ea2.png.cb8e6e998f73e57536eb3b4a37cfe23a.png.327c59c67fe67504c237f8a4b994379e.png){kind=logo}
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.