Jussie Smollett has reportedly staved off a grand jury investigation after he agreeing to speak with authorities about his alleged assault in January.
TMZ says brothers Ola and Abel Osundairo, accused of helping Smollett stage the attack, were in a Chicago courthouse Tuesday ready to testify for the grand jury. But shortly before the Osundairos took the stand, Smollett or his legal team called prosecutors to inform them the actor/singer was ready to cooperate with police. The brothers' testimonies were ultimately postponed, meaning Smollett may have dodged an indictment for filing a false police report.
According to the outlet, the grand jury did not convene Wednesday morning as expected. The meeting between Smollett and Chicago law enforcement has yet to happen.
The 36-year-old claims to have been a victim of a racist, homophobic attack. Smollett told police two masked men assaulted him at around 2 a.m. Jan. 29 in the streets of Chicago. The Empire star claimed the culprits poured a substance on him, tied a noose around his neck, and shouted racist, homophobic slurs at him before stating "this is MAGA country."
Ola and Abel were taken in last week in connection with the attack, but were released without any charges. The Osundairos, who also appeared on Empire, reportedly told authorities Smollett paid them over $3,000 to stage the attack just a day before the brothers traveled to Nigeria. Sources told TMZ the Africa trip had been planned before Smollett's supposed offer.
There were other reported details about the case that raised suspicion, such as Smollett's alleged refusal to speak to police after the Osundairos' time with the police, and redacted phone records he provided to authorities. Smollett appeared on Good Morning America last week to share his side of the story and to address critics who questioned the legitimacy of his account.
"At first it was the thing of like, listen, if I tell the truth then that’s because it's the truth," he told Robin Roberts. "Then it became a thing of, like, how can you doubt that? How can you not believe that? It's the truth."
Stay tuned as more information about the case becomes available.
