‘Don’t Beat Yourself Up Over It, Bud’: Hilarious Responses To Jussie Smollett’s Guilty Verdict

On Thursday, a jury found former “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett guilty on counts related to an apparent hate crime hoax he orchestrated in 2019. The jury reached their decision after about nine hours of deliberation.

Smollett was found guilty on five out of six counts of disorderly conduct. He has not yet been sentenced.

The disgraced actor immediately started trending on social media, and some of the responses were just fantastic.

1. Ben Shapiro: “Tonight, Jussie Smollett can rest knowing that his attacker has been convicted.”
2. Liz Wheeler: “I’m SO glad they caught & convicted Jussie Smollett’s attacker.”
3. Blaire White: “Poor Jussie. Hope he doesn’t beat himself up over this.”
4. The Babylon Bee: “Cruel: Jussie Smollett Will Be Forced To Share A Jail Cell With His Attacker”
5. Stacy Forrest: “Congratulations to Jussie Smollett for being the first American to scam a Nigerian.”
6. Tomi Lahren: “​​Jussie I know you’ve been found guilty and this is a difficult day for you but don’t beat yourself up over it, bud.”
7. Ben Shapiro: “If Jussie Smollett is acquitted, it will send the message that attacking a black, gay man while shouting MAGA slurs is acceptable in our society.”
8. Jon Gabriel: “Only reason jurors found Jussie guilty is because Chicago is MAGA country.”
9. Tim Young: “Don’t tell Jussie… but Biden’s approval ratings would make it appear as if this is, in fact, MAGA country…”
10. Lisa Boothe: “Jussie Smollett can finally rest easy tonight.”

The actor faced a total of “six counts of disorderly conduct under a subsection of the law that prohibits false reports to police,” according to NBC Chicago. The charges were listed as class 4 felonies, “which are among the least serious felonies in Illinois,” the report said, adding that possible “convictions can still carry potential prison time of up to three years.” The report detailed the six counts:

Count 1 accuses him of telling responding Chicago Police Officer Muhammed Baig at around 2:45 a.m., some 45 minutes after the purported attack, that he was the victim of a hate crime. He said two attackers put a rope around his neck. Count 2 refers to Smollett telling the same officer he was a victim of a battery, describing attackers beating and pouring bleach on him.

Counts 3 and 4 are when Smollett made the same claims but to a different officer, Kimberly Murray, later that morning, at just before 6 a.m.

Count 5 accuses Smollett of again telling Murray at around 7:15 p.m. that he was the victim of a battery. Count 6 refers to Smollett reporting on Feb. 14, 2019, to detective Robert Graves that he’d been a victim of an aggravated battery.

As The Daily Wire explained, back in January 2019, Smollett claimed he was targeted and attacked by apparent supporters of President Donald Trump in an anti-gay, anti-black hate crime. His alleged attackers, whom he initially described as white males who yelled “This is MAGA country,” were brothers Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo, Smollett maintained. Notably, the brothers are both black men who knew the “Empire” star before the incident and have claimed Smollett orchestrated the “hoax.” The Daily Wire detailed Smollett’s claim at the time:

Smollett contends he was targeted by two Trump supporters, who verbally and physically accosted him as he was walking home from a Subway sandwich shop in downtown Chicago on January 29. The actor says the men called him a “f*****” and a “n*****,” tied a noose around his neck, poured bleach on him, and kicked him in the ribs.