On January 29th, actor Jussie Smollett filed a report with the Chicago Police Department over an alleged assault that took place against him. Smollett is an African American actor who stars on the popular TV series “Empire” and has been openly gay for several years now. After investigations on the police report filed by Smollett, it has been determined to be a hoax that was staged by the 36 year old actor. He reportedly paid two brothers $3,500 to stage a hate crime against him. The purpose was to boost Smollett’s career as he was unhappy with his compensation on “Empire”. He now faces legal charges for filing a false police report, a class four felony, and has also been removed from the cast of the remaining seasons of “Empire”.
I found this article to be interesting because of all the controversy that has taken place over past few years dealing with racial and hate crimes. While most major crimes that have been made aware to the public spread awareness about the movement to end such things, I find this story to take away from that movement. Smollett is a well known figure in pop culture that many have looked up to in the past, and faking a racially charged attack on himself for his own benefit may have cost him his entire career.
One thing that I wish this article had done differently is elaborate on just how this might effect this controversial subject that is currently present in America. While the article mainly focuses on the legal actions being taken against Smollett, I would challenge them to address the big picture in this situation.
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