Kean Students React to Jussie Smollett Alleged Hoax
By David Janes | Published by March 21, 2019
Jussie Smollett on stage. Photos courtesy of WikiCommons.
The Jussie Smollett Alleged Hate Crime hoax has sparked outrage and discussion among Kean University students.
Smollett, co-star of Empire, claimed he was attacked in Early February outside a Subway store late night in Chicago. He claimed two white males attacked him, poured bleach over him and tied a “noose” around his neck shouting “this is a MAGA country,” as well as racial and homophobic slurs.
All of these claims would later turn out to be allegedly false and part of an ongoing investigation by the Chicago Police Department as well as the FBI. He surrendered himself to the Chicago P.D. on Feb. 21, charged with a class four felony, which carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison, for filing a false police report and was released on bail that same day.
Smollett, plays Jamal Lyon on Empire, a primetime soap about a warring family scheming to regain control and power of their hip hop label, Empire Records.
“First hearing about the Jussie Smollett incident I was appalled and distraught to hear that something so awful was happening in 2019, but at the same time I wasn’t surprised to hear about an attack on a queer black man considering our current administration,” said Patrick McEachern, a junior majoring in sociology and gender and women’s studies minor.
Jussie Smollett being interviewed. Photo courtesy of WikiCommons.
Students feel with the current political climate, and the divide within our country that it wasn’t shocking at first to believe the account of Jussie Smollett’s story before more details emerged.
“I do think that this current political climate most definitely made it easy to miss irregularities in his story, because of the current issues in the US we have now,” said Danielle Spence, a sophomore majoring in public relations. “Anything that plays to those issues or goes to prove what is being said we take that story and run with it without asking questions.”
Students worry that this can and will diminish victims voices opening a rise to hate crimes to happen in the future.
“It just discredits and brings into question the testaments of actual victims in society, giving the homophobic people and racist an upper hand. It’s sort of in a way taking away the voice of the community and the people apart of both the LGBTQIA and African Americans,” said Darius Smith, a junior majoring in biology.
As of now, Smollett remains free on bail and able to travel out-of-state to meet with his lawyers. “If it turns out to be that it was fake then it would be a shame that Jussie Smollett, who has clout and influence, would harm his communities with a lie so big,” said McEachern.
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