TMZ: Osundairo brothers refused to contradict Jussie Smollett and their lawyer quit

Yesterday after the charges against him were dropped, Jussie Smollett immediately spoke to the media saying he had been completely truthful from the start. That seemed to put the ball back in the court of the Osundairo brothers who had claimed Jussie asked them to stage the hate hoax. Today TMZ reports their attorney urged them to speak up but they refused and as a result their attorney quit:

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The 2 brothers who allegedly faked the homophobic and racist “attack” against Jussie Smollett will not go public and stand by their claim it was all staged … and we’ve learned their lawyer has quit as a result.

Moments after Jussie was cleared by the State’s Attorney, the lawyer for Abel and Ola urged them to make a public statement, standing by their claim Jussie faked the “attack.” We’re told they refused, and ultimately their lawyer, Gloria Schmidt, bailed on them, saying she didn’t want to rep them anymore.

Shortly after Smollett’s release, we saw a pretty epic public meltdown by Chicago’s Mayor Rahm Emanuel who called the decision a “whitewash.” Not long after that, even the Deputy States Attorney who dropped the charges said he still believed Smollett was responsible for the hate hoax. I posted this clip yesterday but in case you haven’t seen it:

So within a few hours of the charges against Smollett being dropped, there was plenty of ground on which the brothers could claim they were the ones telling the truth. They had everyone in their corner except Smollett and his legal team. So why stay silent?

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I don’t know the answer but if I had to guess it’s because they can see the fix is in. Smollett (allegedly) concocted this hoax and thanks to his money and celebrity got off with the tiniest possible slap on the wrist. Challenging Smollett publicly now, without a conviction to back them up and with Smollett’s record expunged, could be grounds for him to file a defamation lawsuit. Would he win? I doubt it as he’s a public figure. But Smollett has money to burn and the Osundairo brothers clearly do not. Bottom line: Authorities had Smollett in their sights and blinked. Why would a couple of weightlifters decide to step into the line of fire?

Sure, it’s disappointing they aren’t out there calling Smollett a liar, but can you really blame them? Ultimately, righting this wrong isn’t on the Osundairo brothers it was on the State’s Attorney and that’s where complaints about the outcome should be addressed.

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