Photo Credit: Team_Abel/Instagram; Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune/Pool via Reuter
Jussie Smollett might have had all 16 charges dropped by the Chicago Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx but it hardly means he’s in the clear. His Nigerian accomplices in his MAGA attack, the Osundairo brothers, Olabinjo and Abimbola have handed a lawsuit to his attorneys for defamation today. They’re claiming that even after the investigation was over, Smollett’s attorneys Mark Geragos and Tina Glandian continued to falsely accuse them of “criminally attack[ing]” him, even after the Chicago Police Department claimed otherwise. Glandian suggested in a Today Show interview that the brothers may have been wearing “whiteface” when attacking him which is why Smollett told the police they were white.
The lawsuit also goes on to say that on the podcast “Reasonable Doubt,” Glandian publicly suggested the brothers had a sexual relationship with Smollett. Suggesting that Ola Osundairo is gay puts him and his family in Nigeria in danger as it’s illegal there, punishable to 14 years in prison or death by stoning. Though they were born and raised in Chicago, they visit family in Nigeria often. The suit also claims the two brothers were falsely accused of illegal steroid trafficking. “These statements were unnecessarily made publicly to numerous third parties to advance Ms. Glandian’s reputation and fame and to undoubtedly ruin Plaintiffs’ business,” the lawsuit states.
They dismissed the idea that they attacked Smollett because of his race, pointing out that they’re also black and that he staged it all. The suit claims that they were Smollett’s trainers, sometimes appearing as extras on the show, Empire with him. “He wanted his employer and the public to notice and appreciate him as a successful black, openly gay actor,” the lawsuit said. “Smollett directed every aspect of the attack, including the location and the noose.”
As for their part in what happened, their attorney Gloria Schmidt said, “They’ve realized that it was wrong. They’ve apologized for it. But make no mistake: they had no role in calling the police and they had no role in defrauding the police department.”
Smollett’s attorneys Geragos and Glandian described the lawsuit as “comical” and a “desperate attempt for them to stay relevant and further profit from an attack they admit they perpetrated.” Now whether they’re legally responsible for any of this or not, wrong is wrong and impugning their character to the point that they could be subject to violence in their home country is a bit too far. An unspecified amount of damages were also requested.
