Published on Feb 23, 2019
CNN’s Symone Sanders in Denial over Jussie: ‘Very Concerning’ Police Leaked Smollett Was ‘Staunchly Believable’
By Tony Lee
CNN commentator Symone Sanders insisted on Thursday that things are still not adding up in the Jussie Smollett case, saying that his story was “staunchly believable” as of two days ago.
She said it is “very concerning” that the leaks all came from the Chicago Police Department and insisted that Smollett’s claim that he was attacked by two President Donald Trump supporters in near sub-zero temperatures in Chicago who were yelling “this is MAGA country” and hurling racial and homophobic slurs was “staunchly believable” as of two days days ago.
On February 19, when Sanders said she thought Smollett’s story was still “staunchly believable,” news reports had already surfaced that indicated that Smollett had paid two Nigerian-American brothers to orchestrate the attack after the the hate letter that he allegedly mailed to himself on the Empire set did not get enough attention. Celebrities such as Snoop Dogg and Dave Chappelle had already mocked Smollett for his alleged hoax while Cardi B had declared that Smollett “f*cked up Black History Month.”
“I have spoken with Jussie Smollett’s team. I’ve heard Jussie tell his account in his own words. And I want to tell you… When I had this conversation about two days ago, I believed him,” she insisted. “It was staunchly believable.”
Sanders said she only changed her mind when the video of the two Nigerian-American brothers buying ski masks and a red cap surfaced. Smollett reportedly paid the brothers $3,500 to stage the attack and gave them an additional $100 to buy supplies.
“When the video came out today of the two gentlemen buying what I’ve referred to as a hate crime starter pack, I, like everyone else, had questions,” Sanders said. “At this point, my thoughts are…. we need to see some of the evidence… I think it’s very concerning that all of these leaks came from the Chicago Police Department… So frankly all we have is leaks from the Chicago Police Department… now what they’ve said at this press conference and what Jussie Smollett and his team have said.”
Sanders insisted that “things do not add up here” and “this just doesn’t seem right” because, in reference to the $3,500 that Smollett reportedly paid to the brothers to stage the attack, “$3,500 won’t even buy a round-trip ticket to Nigeria.”
“So I, like many people in America, are confused… even though I’ve heard, I’ve seen what the police department’s said,” she said. “So at the very least I think we should see the police report.”
Sanders said Smollett has lost in the court of public opinion, adding that “this is not a good day for Jussie Smollet” and “frankly it’s a terrible day for folks who have not come forward who have experienced hate crimes and who now are maybe hesitant to come forward if something does actually happen to them because of this.”
“So it’s just not a good day,” Sanders said. “It’s still a terrible Black History Month.”
HILARIOUS! CHARLES BARKLEY SAVAGELY MOCKS JUSSIE SMOLLETT, TRIGGERS ESQUIRE
Esquire Magazine ratioed on Twitter after calling Barkley’s rant ‘bizarre’
FEBRUARY 22, 2019
NBA legend Charles Barkley, who is known for refusing to bow to political correctness, went off on Jussie Smollett for hoaxing a hate crime during a Thursday night segment on TNT.
“America, let me just tell you something. Do not commit crimes with checks. If you’re going to break the law, do not write a check,” Barkley said, mocking Smollett for leaving a paper trail.
Barkley also poked fun at Hollywood actor Liam Neeson who recently admitted an urge to kill a “black bastard” after learning his friend was raped by an African American.
“Jussie, you wasted all that damn time and money. You know what you should have did? Just went up to Liam Neeson’s neighborhood. That would have solved all your damn problems,” chuckled Barkley.
Barkley’s co-host Shaquille O’Neil couldn’t stop laughing during the segment as Barkley relentlessly slammed Smollett’s poorly planned hoax.
Esquire Magazine called the rant “bizarre” and said the Liam Neeson joke was “turrible,” a shot at Barkley’s pronunciation of the word.
“In a word, it’s brutal. In a few more? It’s random, weird, and will make you uncomfortable,” Esquire wrote.
When Esquire posted the article to their Twitter account, the post was ratioed by users who slammed the fashion magazine.
Check out a sample of reactions from Twitter users below:
DRUGS MADE HIM DO IT? SEASON FINALE CLIFFHANGER
By Don Babwin
CHICAGO (AP) — Actor Jussie Smollett‘s character on “Empire” will be removed from the final two episodes of this season in the wake of his arrest on charges that he staged a racist, anti-gay attack on himself last month in downtown Chicago, producers of the Fox TV show announced Friday.
The announcement came a day after Smollett turned himself in to police, appeared in court on a felony charge of disorderly conduct for allegedly filing a false police report, and left jail after posting bond.
“While these allegations are very disturbing, we are placing our trust in the legal system as the process plays,” ”Empire” executive producers Lee Daniels, Danny Strong, Brett Mahoney, Brian Grazer, Sanaa Hamri, Francie Calfo and Dennis Hammer said in a written statement. “We are also aware of the effects of this process on the cast and crew members who work on our show and to avoid further disruption on set, we have decided to remove the role of ‘Jamal’ from the final two episodes of the season.”
“Empire” has nine episodes left to air in its fifth season; the last two episodes are still being worked on.
Smollett, who is black and gay, plays a gay character on the show that follows a black family as they navigate the ups and downs of the recording industry.
Police said Smollett planned the hoax because he was unhappy with his salary and wanted to promote his career. Before the attack, he also sent a letter that threatened him to the Chicago studio where “Empire” is shot, police said.
As authorities laid out their case against Smollett, the narrative that emerged Thursday sounded like that of a filmmaker who wrote, cast, directed and starred in a short movie.
Prosecutors said Smollett gave detailed instructions to the accomplices who helped him stage the attack in January, including telling them specific slurs to yell, urging them to shout “MAGA country” and even pointing out a surveillance camera that he thought would record the beating.
“I believe Mr. Smollett wanted it on camera,” police Superintendent Eddie Johnson told reporters at a Thursday morning news conference. “But unfortunately that particular camera wasn’t pointed in that direction.”
Smollett’s legal team issued a statement Thursday night, calling the actor a “man of impeccable character and integrity who fiercely and solemnly maintains his innocence.” The statement called Johnson’s news conference “an organized law enforcement spectacle.”
“The presumption of innocence, a bedrock in the search for justice, was trampled upon at the expense of Mr. Smollett,” the statement read.
Smollett is earning more than $100,000 per episode, according to a person familiar with the situation. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because salary details were involved. The studio declined to comment on the actor’s salary.
As is customary with a successful TV series, regular cast members on “Empire” received a boost in pay as part of contract extensions that followed the drama’s renewal for a second season, the person said.
Smollett is counted among the series regulars.
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AP Television Writer Lynn Elber in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
Sweden: Gay Resident Beaten by Migrant Gang in LGBTQ-Certified Asylum Home
By Ben Warren
Around 20 Afghan migrants assaulted a gay resident in an LGBTQ-certified asylum home in Westsura, Sweden, according to local media.
The victim, described as an “Iranian gay man,” received such a fierce beating from the asylum seekers in the dining room that the local migration board had to hire a security company to “maintain order” days after the incident.
“It [was] like twenty rockets were lit,” said a staff member. “The entire dining room was coming. They charged over tables and chairs.”
“…They attacked no one else.”
The staff present only interfered after the attackers began to use chairs and forks on the victim.
Only one of the attackers, Abdul Azizi, was convicted of assault; he claims his actions were in “self-defense,” an account the staff and victim denies.
“If I had been alone and he had said [such] ugly things then I could have checked myself, but when he said this openly to everyone, we all became so upset and couldn’t control us,” said Azizi. “We may have made an unconscious error, but honor violations are serious for us.”
This particular asylum home is locally celebrated due to it being the first of its kind to be LGBTQ-certified by Sweden’s Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights (RFSL) back in 2015.
To earn that title, workers went through 16 hours of training, two workshops, and paid attention to details like sex-divided toilets and the art on the walls.
Interestingly, prosecutors have ruled out the assault being a hate crime, a perspective the victim seems to disagree with.
He asserts the attack was the latest in a series of harassments that targeted him and other gay residents.
“When we go to the restaurant, they insult us, scream at us and threaten us,” he said. “It also happens elsewhere in the accommodation.”
Opinion: It’s 2019, And Gay People Are Still Being Forced To Attack Themselves In The Streets
By The Babylon Bee
The year is 2019. You’d think we’d be living in a progressive paradise by now, with energy-efficient trains crisscrossing the idyllic countryside, everyone being accepted for who they are—gay, bi, straight, or polygamous—and all people having equal access to free government breadlines.
But no. In the actual year 2019 that Trump has created, gay people are still being forced to attack themselves in the streets. Gay people, especially black gay people, have been so brainwashed by the messaging of Trump’s America that they are now hiring people to oppress them right out in the open.
This isn’t some third-world country where this is happening. This isn’t in some dystopian young adult fiction, where I get most of my political ideas. It’s here. It’s now. Every day, a gay person somewhere in this country hires a couple of Nigerian guys to make it look like he’s hated and oppressed.
We need to take a good, hard look in the mirror, America, and ask ourselves if this is who we want to be. We have allowed an evil movement of Trump supporters to take over our nation so effectively that we’re now paying people to dress up like them and beat us up. This won’t stand any longer. The time has come to say, “No more!”
May we look back a year from now and be able to declare proudly that the year is 2020 and the LGBT community is no longer compelled to pay people to oppress them. We owe it to our future, more progressive selves.
Warren, Harris Add Reparations to 2020 Campaign Platforms
By
All Democrats have to do is not be insane. And they can’t do it.
In an effort to pander to black voters, Sens. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), both presidential candidates, said they will back reparations for black Americans as part of their campaign platforms.
“We have to be honest that people in this country do not start from the same place or have access to the same opportunities,” Harris reportedly said. “I’m serious about taking an approach that would change policies and structures and make real investments in black communities.”
That statement followed a radio interview in which she explicitly agreed with the host when that “government reparations for black Americans were necessary to address the legacies of slavery and discrimination.”
Warren echoed a similar sentiment.
“Ms. Warren also said she supported reparations for black Americans impacted by slavery — a policy that experts say could cost several trillion dollars, and one that Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and many top Democrats have not supported,” The New York Times said.
The report said that Warren “declined to giver further details” about her reparations plan.
These are the same candidates that also support a “Green New Deal,” which will also cost trillions of dollars at the expense of the American taxpayer.
But there are more questions surrounding reparations than exactly how much they would cost.
Mainly, who would pay them?
Would reparations be paid only by white people who have slave-owning lineages, like Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam of Virginia? Would I, as an Arab American whose family immigrated to the United States through Ellis Island, be required to pay for something in which my ancestors had no part?
Likewise, who exactly would receive them?
Would all blacks receive some form of reparations, regardless of whether their ancestors were slaves? What if someone is half black? Or a quarter? Is that person owed a fraction of the reparations of a fully black American?
And what about poor white people? There are millions of whites who “do not start from the same place or have access to the same opportunities,” as Harris argued. Will they be buried more deeply – will they have to become poorer – simply to atone for the color of their skin? Is that justice?
Most importantly, would reparations help repair the cultural strife in this country, which is mostly promulgated by the mainstream press for ratings and Democrat politicians for votes? Wouldn’t the Harris/Warren plan cause more strife and racial tension?
Do these loons really believe that – in a perfect world – reparations would be paid and everyone would simply shake hands, walk away, and that the country will be more united than it has ever been?
These are practical questions that remained unanswered by politicians who are race-baiting for votes.
Virginia Democrats Publicly Thank Jussie Smollett For Taking All The Attention Away From Them
By The Babylon Bee
RICHMOND, VA—Virginia Democrats are breathing a sigh of relief, as the Jussie Smollett hoax has taken the media’s eye off of their political trainwreck, sources confirmed today.
Both Governor Ralph Northam and the state’s attorney general had drawn ire for racist photographs and blackface, while Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax has been facing a number of sexual assault scandals. The governor had also caused controversy with statements that appeared to support infanticide.
But then, “a miracle happened”: actor Jussie Smollett received a threatening letter from Trump supporters – a letter that he apparently helped author. When his fake letter didn’t bring about the desired media attention, he upped the ante by staging an attack on himself. Since he was unable to find any real Trump supporters that fit into his “white, bigoted, and violent” narrative, Smollett allegedly paid two African-American men to dress in MAGA hats and pretend to assault him at 2 a.m. during a historic cold front in Chicago.
Investigators were immediately suspicious, mainly because no Trump supporters have actually heard of Jussie Smollett, much less do they watch his show, Empire. Police also said it was highly unlikely that any Trump supporters would be in Chicago in the first place. Fortunately for the politicians caught in various scandals, the resulting fallout from this hoax has drawn the public’s attention away from the Virginia Democrats as they seek to salvage their hold on high political office.
In a joint statement released by Northam, Fairfax, and Herring, the three men said, “We offer our most sincere thanks and praise to Mr. Smollett for allowing our careers to remain intact and for giving Democrats continued control of Virginia’s highest positions of public trust. We owe you big time, Jussie!”
Gov. Northam has used the distraction to take a much-needed vacation: he has reportedly absconded to Las Vegas where he is viewing the Cirque du Soleil Michael Jackson show at the Mandalay Bay Casino. “I want to compare their dancing skills to the moves that I showed off when I dressed in blackface for a med-school party”, Northam told reporters. “Thanks to [Jussie] I was able to moonwalk out of this political catastrophe.”
“You might call me a… smooth criminal!” he added. He then attempted to moonwalk but was stopped by his wife.
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