Jussie Smollett continues to defend his account of the alleged hate crime, despite the Osundairo brothers claiming he paid them to stage it.
The duo has now sent him a direct message, urging him to "stop" lying and rejecting his version of events. Smollett insisted his story has never changed and criticized the Chicago Police Department and former Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
A new Netflix documentary has put a spotlight back on the alleged hate crime hoax and features interviews with Jussie Smollett, his attorney, the brothers, and journalists.
Osundairo Brothers Publicly Reject Jussie Smollett's Account Of Alleged Hate Crime
Smollett has fiercely maintained his account of the alleged hate crime, but the Nigerian brothers who say he paid them to stage the attack are publicly challenging his version of events.
According to TMZ, Abel and Ola Osundairo sent a pointed message to Smollett Sunday night at Chicago's Joy District rooftop club.
Along with a bottle of liquor, staff delivered an illuminated sign reading, "STOP THE CAP JUICY," a slang urging him to stop lying, with "Juicy" being Smollett's nickname.
The timing follows Smollett's recent interview with Variety and the release of a Netflix documentary, "The Truth About Jussie Smollett."
The Disgraced Actor Alleged That Men In MAGA Hats Attacked Him
In the interview, he reiterated that two masked men wearing MAGA hats assaulted him, poured bleach, placed a noose around his neck, and shouted racist and homophobic slurs.
In the Netflix documentary, Smollett claimed payments to Abel and Ola were for herbal supplements and suggested the alleged attack by white men was part of a larger conspiracy.
However, the Osundairo brothers have consistently opposed his claims. Their lawyer, Gloria Rodriguez, during a chat with TMZ, slammed the actor's latest efforts to make a comeback.
She claimed that he won't be successful unless he comes clean to the public about the hate crime hoax.
Jussie Smollett Insists His Story Has Never Changed
While Smollett has refrained from directly criticizing the Osundaire brothers, he insisted that his version of events has remained consistent.
"All I can say is, God bless you, and I hope it was worth it," he said during a chat with Variety. "Every single other person's story has changed multiple times. Mine has never. I have nothing to gain from this. I saw firsthand the way that someone can take the exact opposite of who you are and literally sell it."
When asked why evidence supporting his story had not surfaced sooner, he replied, "To be honest with you, I don't really know. I'm not an investigative reporter or a detective. I can't sit and tell you exactly, beat by beat, what happened. I can only tell you what did not happen."
Smollett continued, "And what did not happen is the story that's been out there for almost seven years, that somehow I would have even a reason to do something as egregious as this."
Jussie Smollett Labels CPD And Former Mayor Rahm Emanuel 'Villains' Over Alleged Hoax Case
As previously reported by The Blast, Smollett also criticized the Chicago Police Department (CPD) and former Mayor Rahm Emanuel, calling them "villains" in connection with his conviction over the alleged hoax.
"The villains are the two people who assaulted me, the Chicago Police Department, and, if I may be so brave, the mayor," he told Variety.
The "Empire" actor alleged that the "Chicago establishment" conspired to frame him and questioned whether Emanuel played a role in covering up evidence in the 2014 police killing of Black teenager Laquan McDonald, a case that led a federal judge to order CPD reforms shortly after Smollett reported his alleged attack.
"Could it be that they had just found out about the missing minutes and the missing tape from the murder of Laquan McDonald? Could it be that the mayor helped hide that?" Smollett asked.
He added, "We're living in a world where the higher-ups, their main mission, in order to do all of the underhanded things that they're doing, is to distract us with the shiny object."
Osundairo Brothers Detail Jussie Smollett Allegations In Netflix Documentary
The Osundairo brothers, who worked on the "Empire" set and co-authored "Bigger Than Jussie: The Disturbing Need for a Modern-Day Lynching," testified against Smollett during his trial.
In the new documentary, Abel Osundairo said of Smollett: "I believe he wanted to be the poster boy of activism for Black people, for gay people, for marginalized people."
Ola added that when Smollett asked them to "beat him up," he initially thought it was "crazy," but accepted it as part of the Hollywood world.
The documentary also features interviews with Smollett, his attorney, former Chicago police officials, the Osundairo brothers and their lawyer, as well as journalists who covered the case, providing multiple perspectives on the controversy.