As many of you may know by now, the hit TV show Empire actor Jussie Smollett, a gay black man, previously filed a police report against two men who assaulted him calling him racist and homophobic slurs. However, as the investigation continues, it was discovered that the two persons of interest know Jussie and even worked with him. It is reported that Jussie may have paid them and orchestrated this incident to gain more attention regarding a racist and homophobic letter he got recently on the Empire set.
This is all a lot to process, and I remember the first time I noticed this issue was when lots of celebrities and politicians posted on their social media, calling out the awful hate crime that happened to Jussie. However, a lot of people are retracting their support now and even feeling ashamed of believing in him in the first place. I think like a lot of people have pointed out, if this story has taught us anything is that we should wait for all the facts and truths to come out before we reach any conclusions. Just because a story fits your current narrative or political agenda doesn’t mean it is your cause to blast. Lots of politicians are now feeling the backfire of this incident, and to plainly put it – it sucks. If Jussie really has lied about everything and orchestrated this extravagant and painful attack, he just sent race relations back a couple of centuries.
I think another thing that this incident reveals is the terrifying urge for each political spectrum to find a universally “bad” thing to taunt the other side for. In this case, it is a hate crime that fits the narrative for many Democrats or left-leaning individuals. The Republican Party has also clutched onto a case and over exaggerate it to criticize the left. Overall, it’s just an inefficient and unproductive argument between the two parties, which really reveals that this country is not ready to come together as a whole, and we are still very divided.
Hate crimes still happen and they should never be overlooked. Regardless of if what Jussie said is true, this is not going to help the thousands of real victims out there that are struggling to come out about their own truths.