Jussie Smollett’s alleged accomplices in a hate-crime hoax have spoken out again, pushing the actor to “finally tell the truth” about his role in the incident.
The Osundairo brothers, Abel and Ola, approached by TMZ as they were leaving a Chicago restaurant Friday with lawyer Gloria Schmidt, addressed their feelings on the fiasco, which took a new turn last week when Smollett was again indicted for his part in the January 2019 incident.
Ola said they are praying for Jussie to “build up the courage to finally tell the truth.”
Abel added that the brothers feel remorseful for being involved in the incident and causing people pain.
The Osundairos said they remain “fully committed to the public knowing the truth” and will cooperate with the renewed investigation.
Smollett was indicted by a grand jury on six counts for allegedly lying to Chicago police about a racist and homophobic attack against him that authorities said he staged himself, a special prosecutor assigned to the case announced Tuesday.
Smollett claimed two masked men assaulted him with the noose and a chemical liquid while yelling homophobic slurs and “this is MAGA country,” a reference to President Donald Trump’s “make America great again” campaign slogan.
But the Osundairos eventually told authorities they were paid by him to stage the attack, and Smollett was charged a month later with 16 felony counts of disorderly conduct for making a false report.
Over the objections of the department, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office dropped all charges in March. But special prosecutor Dan Webb issued a statement on Feb. 11 announcing that Smollett had again been indicted.
