Jussie Smollett Gets More Bad News from Windy City Amid Hate Hoax Scandal
The long and arduous tale of Jussie Smollett continues to twist and turn throughout 2019.
Of course, all of this attention is precisely what Smollett was looking for when he allegedly hired two on-set extras from Empire to stage a hate crime against him. Smollett, according to Chicago police who investigated the crime, was hoping that this victimhood would be an asset to his agents in asking for higher paying acting gigs in the future.
In other words, Smollett was attempting to manufacture something interesting about himself, and add depth to his public persona by pretending to have been the victim of a hate crime. This is about as low as one can sink, Hollywood or otherwise, and the American people were furious.
And, to be fair, the City of Chicago was far more livid after prosecutors inexplicably let Smollett off the hook. Now, after refusing to meet Chicago’s demands to reimburse them for the expensive investigation into these crimes, (both the hoax and the sleazy coverup), Smollett will be headed to court.
Chicago filed a lawsuit against Jussie Smollett on Thursday in a bid to recoup the costs of investigating a racist, anti-gay attack that authorities say was orchestrated by the “Empire” actor as a publicity stunt, with the city saying — at minimum — that it now wants triple the amount it initially asked Smollett to pay.
The 12-page civil lawsuit , filed in Cook County court, is the latest volley in a legal battle that shows no signs of abating since Smollett reported that masked men beat him up on Jan. 29 in Chicago, shouting slurs and wrapping a rope around his neck.
The suit comes after Smollett refused a demand that he send the city $130,106 to reimburse Chicago for overtime as police sought to verify Smollett’s account.
Now that Smollett has refused to honor the $130,000 demand, Chicago will be seeking a much larger amount: At least $390,000, according to the lawsuit.