The Truth About Jussie Smollett Rating **** 1/2
I hesitated to watch this documentary because I thought I knew the story. Actor stages a confrontation with two men who are supposed to be white MAGA supporters in order to gain publicity for himself. That’s not what this is. Instead, it is an investigation into the whole affair and raises questions about the narrative the world has been told.
The filmmakers do a good job of highlighting the inconsistency in the police narrative. There were two witnesses who claimed to have seen two white males and not the two brothers from Nigeria. There is missing surveillance footage. There is footage that appears to imply that police had made a deal with Ola and Abimbola Osundairo. One of the brothers was on probation and not allowed to be in possession of weapons. Yet, when police raided their apartment, they found numerous weapons. That fact alone makes both men susceptible to police persuasion. And there is Jussie Smollett himself continuing to claim his innocence.
The evidence that police pressured the brothers to lie about the whole ordeal is strong. Just watch the expression of one of the brothers when a detective says that no one has pressured them. Watch the reaction of the detectives when shown surveillance video of two men who are definitely not the brothers. I would be all in on Jussie’s innocence but for two facts that are hard to explain away.
The first problem I have is the surveillance video showing the brothers buying items like ski masks and rope shortly before the alleged attack. It was cold outside, and these guys are from Nigeria. But what would they need the rope for? Even if you tried to come up with a plausible explanation, there is a coincidence problem. What are the chances that they just happened to purchase items that could also be tied to a global news story. The second problem deals with the Uber records. Surveillance video follows the two suspected perpetrators for several blocks before losing them. There is some reference to then using a cab and later switching to an Uber. Uber records indicated only one ride during the time in question, and that is what led police to the brothers. I wish the filmmakers would have gone back over these details.
My hunch is that the police and the brothers are all lying and Jussie is telling the truth. The brothers have their own personal reasons for lying. I’ve covered enough stories where police quickly zero in on a theory and do everything they can to focus on evidence that fits their theory and then discard or explain away evidence that goes against their theory. Listen to what one witness says about how police replied when they showed him a lineup of all black men and he said he was sure the men he saw were white.
Catch this on Netflix.