Jussie Smollett testified in his trial on Monday afternoon (Dec. 6) that he and Abimbola Osundairo, one of the two men he claims attacked him, did drugs together and “made out” prior to the alleged 2019 assault.
According to Fox News correspondent Matt Finn, Smollett said he and Abimbola met at a club in 2017 or 2018 and smoked marijuana and did cocaine together. Later that night, Smollett said they went to the Steamworks bathhouse in the Boystown neighborhood of Chicago where they got a private room, did more drugs and “made out.” Smollett added that there was “touching.”
The former “Empire” star is being tried on six counts of felony disorderly conduct in Illinois after he was arrested for filing a false police report back in January of 2019. In the report, Smollett, who is Black and gay; claimed he was assaulted by two men who beat him, drenched him in bleach, placed a noose around his neck and hurled racist and homophobic slurs, as well as, “This is MAGA country.”
Last week in the trial, Abimbola and his brother Olabinjo Osundairo testified that Smollett paid them $3,500 to stage the attack. Abimbola, who worked as a stand-in on “Empire,” said he only agreed to help Smollett carry out the hoax because he felt “indebted” to his “close friend.”
Prosecutors also said surveillance footage shows Smollett and the two brothers did a “dry run” of the attack prior to the alleged assault. Another video also showed Olabinjo and Abimbola walking with the actor on the night of the incident.
Smollett has continued to maintain his innocence of the crimes and has said he is upset that critics doubt his claims. If convicted, he faces up to three years in prison. See Fox News correspondent Matt Finn’s tweets from Smollett’s Monday testimony below.