Dozens of Chicago Police lined the streets in front of the Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s downtown offices Monday, many on horseback, to separate hundreds of protestors warring over Jussie Smollett.
A grand jury indicted the gay black actor and singer on 16 felony charges in February based on overwhelming evidence he staged an outlandish hate crime to denigrate supporters of President Trump and promote his career.
But Foxx’s office ultimately dismissed all charges as part of an agreement Smollett forfeit his $10,000 bond and complete minimal community service. The soft treatment, as well as intervention from former Obama administration officials, immediately drew public backlash from city police and Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who labeled the outcome a “whitewash of justice,” the Chicago Tribune reports.
Initially, Democrat politicians and far left celebrities, along with the mainstream media, promoted Smollett’s hate crime claims as the new reality in Trump’s America – a “modern day lynching” motivated by deep hate.
It’s a narrative Smollett himself leveraged in the past with his much-touted music video F.U.W., his personal attack on the president released in March 2017.
“F.U.W.,” Smollett posted to Twitter, announcing the video’s debut. “Less distraction. More Action. LINK IN BIO. Love y’all. #Resist”
In a statement, Smollett said at the time F.U.W. “is not a single. It’s not a song to promote the series. It’s an artistic expression.”
“My view of this sick cycle, an era in which we must fight our way out of before it’s too late. This view of unity is something they may never understand,” he said, according to NBC News. “That is why it is up to us. Train your daughters and sons to be soldiers of love, despite and in spite of this F**ked Up World.”
Smollett’s case is now tearing the “daughters and sons” he supposedly loves so much into warring factions. Some are siding with police who believe Smollett should face the same consequences as others who lie to police, while others, including Rev. Jesse Jackson and other Smollett supporters, are screaming about the “racist” justice system.
The volatile situation is further complicated by looming federal investigations into claims Smollett mailed himself a hate letter at the Fox Studios in Chicago, where he starred in the television show “Empire,” as well as calls to look into Foxx’s involvement in the case.
Smollett introduced his F.U.W. as a social commentary. But times have changed since 2017, and the Smollett case is shining a whole new hypocritical light on his prior work.
The American Mirror offers a 2019 F.U.W. remix that updates the powerful song with proper context, though Smollett’s original, explicit lyrics remain unedited.
You’re welcome.
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