horrifying attack on Jussie Smollett

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Lots of love and support coming in for him:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/life...aulted-possible-homophobic-attack/2709986002/

There's a couple of paragraphs about the alleged incident itself and then lots of messages of support from other celebrities and politicians. Maybe I'm a bad person for questioning this, and I certainly wouldn't fault anyone for simply taking him at his word at this stage. It's just that something about it doesn't make any sense to me.
 
William Parcher said:
TMZ might be getting skeptical based on their latest update.

http://m.tmz.com/#!article/2019/01/...-attacked-hospitalized-homophobic-hate-crime/
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They might be or you might be? I didn't see any comments like that.

They did report the the cops came 45 minutes after the fact and the rope was still on his neck.

The Target video didn't show the attack, but the cops are acquiring another video from a nearby apt. building.

Kind of hard to break your own rib. His face doesn't look beat up.

The video from a nearby apt. building and the ED report should shed some light.
 
Skeptic Ginger said:
They might be or you might be? I didn't see any comments like that.
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They reveal their skepticism when they use the word "Remember" before telling you when the alleged crime occurred. They want to bring special attention to him wearing the rope for 45 minutes. TMZ is getting skeptical and for reasons.
 
Puppycow said:
This might be the letter that the FBI is investigating?

https://twitter.com/Homiekage/status/1090283693497896960

Seen here
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The interesting sequence in that article is the police denying any record of anyone claiming they made MAGA comments. Since the only witness is Smollett, they're apparently saying he didn't claim that, just homophobic and racial slurs. Is this a contradiction of any statements he made? Or did one or another news organization take liberties and add that in for effect?

(Serious question. I'm kinda busy with a household crisis and can't actually find the sequence of events or who made that claim originally.)
 
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Travis said:
Surprised there isn't a thread on this yet. Star of the hit show Empire, Jussie Smollett, was apparently attacked last night. And, if the reporting our right now is true, it sure does seem like a hate crime.


He is both black and gay. Not shy about it. A week ago he got some threatening letter is the mail, which had MAGA written across them. It would seem a stretch that they are related at this time but I'm sure authorities are looking into it. As it stands he was outside a Subway when two men attacked him, breaking a rib and battering his face while, reportedly, yelling homophobic and racist slurs. Reportedly bleach (odd) was poured on him and a rope tied around his neck. Some say it was a real noose but...a rope at least.


TMZ has a report that someone yelled "this is MAGA country" but Chicago PD dispute it. Not that I necessarily trust Chicago PD but we will see what happens.


Anyhow a prominent black gay man was hugely manhandled and I'm somewhat shocked there isn't more coverage of it today.
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I might be called some kind of denialist but this type of story just sounds so unbelievable (in general) that I struggle to believe it could possibly be true.

I know, there are crappy people out there but this sounds like a caricature of a hate crime (and what I'd expect an insane person to invent in order to bolster their political cause, somehow)
 
pharphis said:
I might be called some kind of denialist but this type of story just sounds so unbelievable (in general) that I struggle to believe it could possibly be true.

I know, there are crappy people out there but this sounds like a caricature of a hate crime (and what I'd expect an insane person to invent in order to bolster their political cause, somehow)
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Okay, you're a denialist.

Is this really any crazier than a Nazi getting so enraged by protesters that he plows through them? A white supremacist shooting up a black church. A gen-you-wine bigot shooting up a Synagogue. Which of those do you actually find plausible? 'Cuz for the life of me all of those sound like caricatures of hate crimes, too, when viewed through conserva-lens spectacles.

I dunno if the story's true or not. I'm just here because the usual "skeptics forum" need to be first to call "fake!" amuses me.
 
pharphis said:
I know, there are crappy people out there but this sounds like a caricature of a hate crime (and what I'd expect an insane person to invent in order to bolster their political cause, somehow)
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The letter also looks like a caricature. If the attack is a hoax then the letter probably is as well.
 
Foolmewunz said:
The interesting sequence in that article is the police denying any record of anyone claiming they made MAGA comments. Since the only witness is Smollett, they're apparently saying he didn't claim that, just homophobic and racial slurs. Is this a contradiction of any statements he made? Or did one or another news organization take liberties and add that in for effect?

(Serious question. I'm kinda busy with a household crisis and can't actually find the sequence of events or who made that claim originally.)
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He did not mention it in the initial interview, but did mention it in a follow-up interview later in the day, after TMZ reported.

During his first conversation with police, Smollett did not say that the attackers made "MAGA" comments, a police spokesperson said. That detail was published by TMZ.com and Smollett mentioned it during a follow-up interview with police later in the day, according to the spokesperson.
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Foolmewunz said:
Okay, you're a denialist.

Is this really any crazier than a Nazi getting so enraged by protesters that he plows through them? A white supremacist shooting up a black church. A gen-you-wine bigot shooting up a Synagogue. Which of those do you actually find plausible? 'Cuz for the life of me all of those sound like caricatures of hate crimes, too, when viewed through conserva-lens spectacles.

I dunno if the story's true or not. I'm just here because the usual "skeptics forum" need to be first to call "fake!" amuses me.
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There certainly are real hate crimes. Mass murders are never hoaxes. At least I've never heard of one that was a hoax, despite the conspiracy theorists who always claim "false flag". The ones that are hoaxes tend to look more like this one.
 
Puppycow said:
He did not mention it in the initial interview, but did mention it in a follow-up interview later in the day, after TMZ reported.
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This is according to Chicago PD, whop aren't well-known for being thorough and professional, to say the least, even when Dolt 45 isn't involved - and given the idiot's express support for police brutality, I'd expect that a PD known for brutality such as Chicago (these are the guys that had a black site and a torture chamber, after all) could easily "forget" to write it down.

This story doesn't sound all that unbelievable to me, all things considered. Gay black guy is beaten and has a noose put around his neck? Actually, that sounds like a fairly normal hate crime. Actually, the "blacks rule" guy sounds more unlikely.

Yes, the legal system will be slow and thorough, in the end, and that's as it should be. I'm not a part of that system, I'm just a guy that detests this sort of attack, so I hope that they put these two guys under the jail.
 
Oh no! The Star of the hit show Empire, Jussie Smollett, you say? 'Hugely manhandled'? Is that an accusation of violence or a promo line on his Facebook account? Whatever, the whole story is a crock of crap, you've outdone yourself this time OP.
 
I'm confused, is this a thread for us to take sides based on our political preferences, or is it a thread to guess what actually happened and hope to be proved right later so we can look clever? Those are the only two schools of skepticism here.
 
Puppycow said:
There certainly are real hate crimes. Mass murders are never hoaxes. At least I've never heard of one that was a hoax, despite the conspiracy theorists who always claim "false flag". The ones that are hoaxes tend to look more like this one.
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Can you explain what you think might actually have happened, that you believe this is a hoax?

Is it that you think Smollett was attacked, but that the attackers have just been painted as white maga crazies, or do you think he was not attacked and somehow faked everything?
 
I can't speak for anyone else in the thread but I hope my opinion is not because of any political bias on my part. Fwiw, I wouldn't be caught dead in a MAGA hat myself. I don't support Trump at all and I hope he leaves office as soon as possible.
 
TofuFighter said:
Can you explain what you think might actually have happened, that you believe this is a hoax?

Is it that you think Smollett was attacked, but that the attackers have just been painted as white maga crazies, or do you think he was not attacked and somehow faked everything?
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The latter. I don't think these attackers exist.

So far police have been unable to find any evidence of their existence.
 
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