quote:

Originally posted by Cindysphinx:
No. I still can't believe he hired those two guys to beat him up for publicity.

*Nobody* is that dumb.

There has to be an explanation. I mean, *look* at those guys.

I'm waiting for the fat lady to sing. So far this whole episode has been trial by media and tons of confirmation bias. Chicago police are saying his motivation was that he was unsatisfied with his salary? That just boggles the mind. It doesn't make any sense. Nor does the argument he allegedly did it to further his career. What? It sounds like his career was blossoming. Let's not forget that this is the same Chicago police department that is known for hiding video evidence. They lost a case in court over it.

Smollett may have staged this event but I'm not going to be convinced until real evidence is presented in court.

I think Supt Johnson made a huge mistake mentioning the alleged dissatisfaction with salary. He should have stuck with factual information.

Is it true he paid them by check?

quote:

Originally posted by well-tempered gardener:
I think Supt Johnson made a huge mistake mentioning the alleged dissatisfaction with salary. He should have stuck with factual information.

The police like to have a motive. You need a theory in order to explain the crime to prosecutors and the jury.

The motive would be sympathy and attention.

How can the police know what he thought about his salary?

A reporter asked a question about that. Johnson's answer was that the brothers said so.

As I recall, Smollett is adamant that the men in the surveillance photo are the people who attacked him. It's been confirmed that the brothers are the men in the photo. And Johnson said there were cell phone calls between the brothers and Smollett on many occasions, including an hour before and an hour after the attack. That's a lot harder to explain away.

What they said about motive can't be corroborated. edit: Well, there was no mention of anyone else who says that Smollett told them that....so to be more accurate, there isn't any publicly available corroborating evidence.

quote:

Originally posted by Cindysphinx:
Is it true he paid them by check?

Yes. Police have the check.

quote:

Originally posted by Cindysphinx:
The motive would be sympathy and attention.

How can the police know what he thought about his salary?

The same way they know what anyone thinks about anything. Through people who heard him say so, and by his actions.

You do know that intent, or scienter, is an element of some crimes, right? In other words, you have to prove what someone must reasonably have thought.

So the police are used to using evidence to reach a conclusion about what people thought.

After all, isn’t a motive just what someone thought? In every case?

It appears that the answer is the cops are repeating what the bodybuilders said Jussie said.

What should the punishment be for this? I was talking to a friend, and she said that this person is obviously mentally ill and deserves leniency.

I don’t know. I don’t think we should waste a jail cell on someone for something like this, but he ought to be required to repay the course of the investigation, which will be substantial. How he will repay it with no Hollywood salary is a mystery.

quote:

Originally posted by Piano*Dad:
If he has fabricated this, I hope they throw the proverbial book at him. The collateral damage he has done is enormous.

No it's not, regardless whether he staged it or not. Hate crime is so real and so frequent that a single incident like this is not going alter people's perception of crimes against LGBTs. Except for people like Coulter, who has already said, in reference to Smollett, that "All hate crimes are hoaxes". And everyone already knows what sort of person she is.

I dunno, Bernard.

Crying "wolf" is always tremendously harmful. In the area of sexual harassment, sexual assault, and hate crimes, it is crucial that victims be believed.

Anything that encourages victims to be cross-examined and doubted makes it less likely that victims will come forward.

I just . . . I mean, it is not like he was drunk, or high, or pressured, or anything.

And these bodybuilders? If someone comes to you and says, "Hey, will you pretend-attack me on the streets of Chicago so I can claim it was a hate crime and get some more money out of the studio?", how is your answer not "Heck no. Some cop comes across me pretending to beat you up and how is that going to go down?"

quote:

Originally posted by Cindysphinx:
I dunno, Bernard.

Crying "wolf" is always tremendously harmful. In the area of sexual harassment, sexual assault, and hate crimes, it is crucial that victims be believed.

Anything that encourages victims to be cross-examined and doubted makes it less likely that victims will come forward.

I just . . . I mean, it is not like he was drunk, or high, or pressured, or anything.

And these bodybuilders? If someone comes to you and says, "Hey, will you pretend-attack me on the streets of Chicago so I can claim it was a hate crime and get some more money out of the studio?", how is your answer not "Heck no. Some cop comes across me pretending to beat you up and how is that going to go down?"

I don't agree that there is going to be lasting collateral damage from this IF it turns out he staged the whole thing.

The points you make about about drunk, pressured, and the body builders is why I still don't buy the "official" story. I think it is as likely he's been framed or used, or grossly misled by someone. How does getting beat up link to getting a raise!?!? "Oh, I need a raise, let me see if I can get beat up then I'm sure my boss will give me one." WTF? No one thinking of staging such a crime would pay by check. Come on.

And the Chicago police!? Holding a presser and passing judgements that should wait until a trial has found Smollett guilty. Talk about tainting the jury pool.

There's something really fishy about this story; either that or Smollett has some mental health issues.

quote:

Originally posted by Bernard:

quote:

Originally posted by Piano*Dad:
If he has fabricated this, I hope they throw the proverbial book at him. The collateral damage he has done is enormous.

No it's not, regardless whether he staged it or not. Hate crime is so real and so frequent that a single incident like this is not going alter people's perception of crimes against LGBTs. Except for people like Coulter, who has already said, in reference to Smollett, that "All hate crimes are hoaxes". And everyone already knows what sort of person she is.

Yes. And he's clearly got some mental issues. And, as Cindy says, there are all sorts of weird details to be figured out. Paying by check? Seriously stupid.

Yeah. The hard part is that both versions of the story are *insane.* At the bail hearing, the prosecutors red text messages where Jussie was setting everything up and coordinating it.

Are those texts fakes? Well, when the cops asked Jussie to provide his phone records, he redacted them.

I think what really happened is that he just assumed everyone would believe him; no one would check on anything; so long as no one was apprehended, he could sob his way through; if anyone was apprehended, he could say that was not the assailant.

As far as whether being a victim of a sensational crime where you weren't really injured might help your career . . . it sure would if you have the type of career that depends on being famous and on name recognition.

And as a black person, can I just say that it is extra horrible that he threw in the bit about the noose? They should march his little behind around the Smithsonian African American museum and make him look at those photos of lynchings. Maybe they should hang one in his cell too.