Perspectives: Jussie Smollett's Guilty Verdict
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Actor Jussie Smollett was found guilty Thursday of filing a false police report about a racist, homophobic hate crime against him in 2019, which prosecutors said he staged by paying the assailants.
Smollett, who is gay and black, claimed that two men wearing Make America Great Again attire assaulted him, put a noose around his neck and said "this is Trump country" one night in January 2019. The case and trial polarized the nation. At the time of the incident, people from President Joe Biden to former President Donald Trump condemned the attack. In the following months, many on the left painted the attack as an example of Trump-fueled hate for minorities. Others grew skeptical of Smollett's story after reports emerged in mid-February 2020 that investigators were probing the case as a potential hoax. On Thursday, the jury found Smollett guilty of faking the crime and lying to police.
Right-rated sources highlighted the guilty verdict more prominently than left- and center-rated sources. Many right-rated outlets highlighted Democrats who supported Smollett and had yet to retract their sympathy. Others criticized Smollett for aggravating racial tensions to get attention and called for harsh legal consequences. Some left-rated sources criticized right-wing media for purportedly weaponizing the verdict to criticize journalists. Others said the verdict would hurt true hate crime victims by providing conservatives with reason to doubt and politicize their stories.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Right
Throw the book at hate-hoaxer Jussie Smollett
The story of Jussie Smollett and the implausible hate crime attack against him is now familiar to nearly everyone.
Smollett, a little-known actor on a long-running Fox television show, claimed to have been walking down the street minding his own business at 2 a.m. in downtown Chicago when he was attacked by two white Trump supporters wearing red "Make America Great Again" hats who made reference to his race (he is black), his sexual orientation (he is gay), and the obscure television show on which he appeared. The attackers allegedly...
From the Left
Jussie Smollett being found guilty of hoax will hurt LGBTQ folks reporting hate crimes
The Jussie Smollett saga may now be technically over after a Chicago jury found the actor guilty Thursday of five of the six counts he faced, but its impact will be — and has already been — felt for years to come. It doesn’t matter if the actor, who starred on “Empire,” really was beaten up by people yelling “This is MAGA country!” and is wrongly being punished or if he did stage an elaborate hoax, as the jury decided he did by finding him guilty of five counts of disorderly...
From the Center
Joe Biden, Kamala Harris Tweets Backing Jussie Smollett Remain Up After Guilty Verdict
Democratic President Joe Biden and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris have left up tweets expressing support for actor Jussie Smollett after he was allegedly a victim in a racist and anti-gay hate attack that occurred on January 29, 2019. However, on Thursday, a jury found that Smollett lied about the attack.
Biden's tweet reads, "What happened today to @JussieSmollett must never be tolerated in this country. We must stand up and demand that we no longer give this hate safe harbor; that homophobia and racism have no place on our streets or in our hearts....
AllSides Picks
April 18th, 2024
April 23rd, 2024
April 22nd, 2024
More News about Justice from the Left, Center and Right
From the Left
From the Center
From the Right
