Attorney For Brothers Who Reportedly ‘Attacked’ Jussie Smollett Drops Bombshell Details In New Interview
Jussie Smollett's alleged attack has taken a slew of twists and turns since its initial report back in January. Now, some two months later, the brothers who allegedly were behind the assault are speaking out once again through their attorney and making a bold claim about the case on Good Morning America.
In an interview with GMA's George Stephanopolous, their lawyer, Gloria Schmidt, echoed previous reports that Smollett asked brothers Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo to stage the attack as a "favor" to him.
She further added that her clients "were just taken advantage of by someone they trusted," alleging that the brothers considered the Empire star a friend who could help propel their acting careers.
"This was someone who the brothers thought could help their career... someone they had trusted to consider their best interest," she continued.
As previously reported, the check Smollett signed for the brothers was not for the attack, but, instead, for a training and nutrition program. Schmidt confirmed this, herself, adding the actor hired them to train him for a music video shoot. She further added, however, that while the check read that it was specifically for training purposes, it was actually also a payment to the brothers to stage the attack.
"They were paid for the training... but they were also asked to do this favor for him," she told the anchor. "If you're friends, and I'm saying, 'Hey, I'm going to pay you for training,' I'm also asking you to do me a favor... and the favor was to stage the attack."
While she boldly shared those sentiments on the morning program, she stressed, "I'm confident that they did not do a hate crime."
This all comes days after a grand jury issued Smollett a 16-count indictment for every allegedly false statement he made in his police report.
The scandal also has reportedly spilled over even more into Smollett's professional life as Variety reports that this recent indictment has put his role as Jamal Lyon on Empire in jeopardy with possibilities of a recast or even a kill off being highly considered.
