Managing editor for The Washington Free Beacon, David Rutz, made a damning video of “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett tearfully telling “Good Morning America” host Robin Roberts of the alleged pro-Trump-themed hate crime he suffered, spliced with clips of Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson obliterating Smollett for his “shameful” hoax hate crime.
Early Thursday morning, Smollett surrendered himself to authorities after he was charged with felony disorderly conduct for allegedly filing a false police report concerning the hate crime in question. Johnson spoke to reporters before Smollett was eventually released on bond, and he did not hold back.
“To be quite honest, it’s shameful,” said Johnson. “It painted this city that we all love and work hard in in a negative connotation. To insinuate and to stage a hate crime of that nature — when he knew, as a celebrity, it would get a lot of attention — it’s despicable,”
“As a black man who spent his entire life living in the city of Chicago, I know the racial divide that exists here,” continued the superintendent. “I know how hard it’s been for our city and our nation to come together. How can an individual who’s been embraced by the city of Chicago turn around and slap everyone in this city in the face by making these false claims?”
“I am left hanging my head asking ‘why?’ Why would anyone — especially an African American man — use the symbolism of a noose to make false accusation,” Johnson said. “Bogus police reports cause real harm. They do harm to every legitimate victim who is in need of support by police and investigators as well as the citizens of this city. … I’m offended by what happened and I am also angry.”
The new revelations from Johnson fly in the face of Smollett’s “Good Morning America” interview, wherein the actor tearfully recalled the vicious hate crime, bragged about “fighting” his attackers, and accused any “doubters” of racism.
“It’s the attackers, but it’s also the attacks. It’s not that you don’t believe this is the truth; you don’t even want to see this is the truth,” Smollett told Roberts, later adding: “It feels like if I had said it was a Muslim, or a Mexican, or someone black, I feel like the doubters would’ve supported me a lot more, and that says a lot about the place that we are in our country right now.”
“It’s not necessarily that you don’t believe that this is the truth, you don’t even want to see the truth,” he continued.
“For me, the main thing was the idea that I somehow switched up my story, you know? And that somehow maybe I added a little extra trinket, you know, of the MAGA thing,” said Smollett. “I didn’t need to add anything like that. They called me a f*****, they called me a n*****. There’s no which way you cut it. I don’t need some MAGA hat as the cherry on top of some racist sundae.”
“I think people need to hear the truth,” the actor added. “‘Cause everybody has their own idea. Some are healing and some are hurtful, but I just want young people, young members of the LGBTQ community — young, black children — to know how strong that they are.”
The two segments spliced together are really something to behold.
WATCH: