These Jussie Smollett Flashbacks Are Incredibly Delicious
Jussie Smollett’s many prominent defenders faced a reckoning on Twitter after the former “Empire” actor was found guilty Thursday of lying to police as part of a hate crime hoax.
SO WHAT
Can liberal elites take the “L”?
THE FLASHBACKS
Smollett’s story — that he was jumped by racist and homophobic Trump supporters outside his Chicago apartment on Jan. 29 2019 — was initially supported by prominent figures in Democratic politics, Hollywood and the media.
- Conservative Twitter commentators were ready with the receipts when Smollett was convicted of five counts of disorderly conduct:
Jan. 29, 2019: Liberal politicians and celebrities, from then-presidential candidate Joe Biden to singer John Legend, quickly tweeted full-throated condemnations of American bigotry in response to news of the fake attack against Smollett, who is black and gay.
Incredible stuff pic.twitter.com/IczNfxlU46
— Libs of Tik Tok (@libsoftiktok) December 10, 2021
#JussieSmollett Hollywood Edition pic.twitter.com/svY3018VyI
— Libs of Tik Tok (@libsoftiktok) December 10, 2021
Jan. 31, 2019: During an emotional appearance on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” Elliot Page — then a star actress known as Ellen Page — blamed then-Vice President Mike Pence and the Trump administration for anti-LGBT violence and the Smollett hoax.
#BelieveAllWomen pic.twitter.com/KNsi7d2WLh
— Douglas Murray (@DouglasKMurray) December 10, 2021
Feb. 14, 2019: “Good Morning America” host Robert Roberts sympathetically interviewed Smollett as he claimed he was attacked for opposing then-President Donald Trump.
I’ll never get over Smollett telling Robin Roberts, “I will never be the man that this did not happen to.”
💀💀💀
— Kylee Zempel (@kyleezempel) December 10, 2021
Feb. 19, 2019: With Chicago police doubting Smollett’s story, then-presidential candidate Kamala Harris struggled with a reporter’s question about whether she stood by her her initial statement calling the hoax a “modern day hate crime.”
Throwback to this absolute gem pic.twitter.com/EC2hoPe7NB
— Libs of Tik Tok (@libsoftiktok) November 29, 2021
March 26, 2019: CNN media critic Brian Stelter made the case after a first round of charges against Smollett were dropped that “we may never really know what happened on the street that night in Chicago.”
Watch it again. Everything wrong with this dude and his job in media in 49 seconds. https://t.co/Sw4tiCIgrT
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) December 10, 2021
Aug. 26, 2019: Comedian Dave Chappelle said in his newly released Netflix special that black people knew from the beginning Smollett was “clearly lying.”
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) December 10, 2021
FAST-FORWARD
Smollett has few defenders left — with the notable exception of Black Lives Matter — but has defiantly maintained his innocence nonetheless.
- Nenye Uche, Smollett’s lead attorney, pledged Thursday to appeal his conviction, telling reporters: “We feel 100% confident that this case will be won on appeal” and “we remain 100% confident in our client’s innocence.”