This ABC News headline needs to be in a museum:
"Alleged hate crime hoax."
I mean, he did have a "noose" around his neck when police arrived at his home and he told him about the MAGA guys who beat him up at 2 a.m. in Chicago, so it was totally believable.
Here's how ABC somehow gets away with using "alleged" in this situation where a hate crime was carried out by two men who in ABC's words, "told law enforcement the actor paid them to help him stage the attack":
A grand jury indicted Smollett on 16 felony counts of disorderly conduct for allegedly filing a false police report in March 2019. However, the charges were later dropped after Smollett completed preemptive community service and agreed to forfeit 10% of a $100,000 bond.
Smollett was indicted again in February 2020 on six felony counts of disorderly conduct for allegedly making false reports to police. In December 2021, he was found guilty on five of six counts of disorderly conduct in connection to allegations of faking the attack and lying to police and was later sentenced to 150 days in county jail and ordered to pay $120,000 in restitution to the city of Chicago. He was also fined $25,000.
In November 2024, the Illinois Supreme Court overturned Smollett's 2021 conviction, stating that the case violated his due process rights.
Smollett is apparently a great actor, because he has, to this day, maintained his innocence in the "alleged" hate-crime hoax.
He'll be starring in the fourth season of Special Farces Forces: World's Toughest Test this fall on Fox.
The internet had a whole lot of fun with this one:
There it is 👇
Great work, ABC!!!
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