Disgraced actor Jussie Smollett‘s former Empire co-star has broken his silence after Smollett was found guilty of staging a fake hate crime against himself.
Empire actor Terrence Howard is speaking out about the verdict in the Jussie Smollett case.
Smollett Verdict
Smollett was recently found guilty on five out of six charges in the case brought against him after a jury of his peers determined that he had lied to police when he claimed he had been attacked.
The Daily Wire reported on Smollett’s claim at the time:
“Smollett contends he was targeted by two Trump supporters, who verbally and physically accosted him as he was walking home from a Subway sandwich shop in downtown Chicago on January 29. The actor says the men called him a “f*****” and a “n*****,” tied a noose around his neck, poured bleach on him, and kicked him in the ribs.”
The men also supposedly yelled “This is MAGA country,” (in deep-blue Chicago) and the crime took place at around 2 a.m. in the middle of a “polar vortex.”
None of the details of his story added up, even from the beginning. But many people were willing to give Smollett the benefit of the doubt.
After police began to investigate the so-called hate crime, they uncovered evidence that Smollett hired two of his friends, Nigerian brothers Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo, to stage the crime, and paid them handsomely for it. Enough evidence was provided to the jury to prove this, and Smollett was found guilty.
Co-Star Speaks Out
On December 12th, Empire actor Terrence Howard appeared on Mark Vargas’ Mark My Words radio show. On the show, he stated that he saw Smollett’s trial in a completely different light than most people, because he felt a paternal relationship with Smollett given the fact that Jussie had played his son on Empire.
“It’s interesting, it’s an uncomfortable question because anyone that’s aware of the show or my relationship with Jussie would know that Jussie is, for six years, he was my son,” Howard said. “He was my son that I had the most difficulty with on that show as far as the character world goes. So you end up getting very close to individuals that you have the most struggle with. Whose characters you have the most struggle with.”
He went on to say that his family “loves Jussie and I love Jussie,” but made sure to note that despite his personal feelings, he respects the jury’s decision, and fans of Smollett should too.
“They judged him and found him guilty, 12 of them that judged from a completely unbiased position… you have to respect that,” Howard said.
The Academy Award nominated actor also expressed his concerns about the impact Smollett’s hate crime hoax could have had on society, saying it could have “set the world on fire.” Though he stopped short of admitting that Smollett faked the attack, he said that if it were deemed to be true, it would have had a serious impact on the black community.
“If they had gotten away with it, whoever orchestrated it. Whatever was set up. If they got away with it, then we would have the potential of blacks feeling like they need to defend black people against MAGA, and it could have turned into something very, very scary and very ugly,” Howard said. “People would have gotten hurt and killed and if that was the case, the blood on someone’s hands would have been massive.”
“I’m very glad that it’s over,” he concluded.
