Jussie Smollett’s Brother Pens Op-Ed, Claims ‘Empire’ Star Is Telling The Truth & Has Night Terrors

Jussie Smollett is the victim of the perfect storm of an out-of-control media and a social media firestorm, according to his older brother, Jojo Smollett.

The older Smollett, in a new op-ed piece for BET, suggests that his younger brother, the embattled Empire star, is suffering “profound” emotional issues simply for telling the truth about his attack and then going through the media onslaught of the last few months.

Related: Jussie Has Officially Been Sued By The City Of Chicago!!!

Jojo’s op-ed covers quite a bit of ground, going after the entertainment news media as well as the social media world, while explaining why he believes the 36-year old is innocent and being unfairly railroaded by the Chicago Police Department and prosecutors in the Windy City.

It’s certainly a call to back up Jussie from an interested and biased third party, but the op-ed still makes for an interesting read; as you can see (below), Jojo opines on the greater issues at play here as far as Jussie’s public guilt is concerned, and what it means for our greater society:

“Is that all it takes to destroy a lifelong dedication to one’s craft and community? Is it really that easy to convince the world of a person’s guilt? Is that all it takes to turn someone’s life upside down in America? Simply ask yourself this, “What if Jussie is telling the truth?” With not one inkling of solid evidence, many believed the false witness testimony from two suspects who turned into witnesses, even though they lacked standard credibility.

It was under-reported that one of the “witnesses” had previously been arrested for attempted murder ending with a plea deal for aggravated battery, or that the brothers repeatedly expressed homophobia on their social media in the past. Additionally, it was never reported that they changed their story while under police interrogation.”

He definitely makes an interesting case!

And it continues (below):

“Let me be clear, it is undeniable that many people on social media support my brother. The love he receives from his village, fans and fellow activists is real. His gratitude is unwavering. What concerned me the most is, as the CPD continued their campaign against Jussie, I started to notice an online “bandwagon” approaching ignoring whether there were any real facts to suggest his guilt. In an effort to fit in with the momentum on social media, many appeared to roast him, demean him, and laugh at a traumatic and painful ordeal. Jussie is as strong as iron, but following an attack like this, there is a normal and natural amount of post trauma that mostly anyone should expect to suffer. I have literally seen him violently awakening from night terrors, following the assault. Some of my siblings, as well as Jussie’s partner and closest friends have seen similar things.

While very few people are courageous enough to swim upstream and resist the popular conformity of the day, I still can’t believe how many people failed to ask the question: ‘What if Jussie is telling the truth?'”

Wow. It goes on quite a ways from there — what a powerful post, and a powerful show of a brother defending his brother in an extremely public way.

If you want to read the whole piece, you can do so HERE. Thoughts, Perezcious readers?? Sound OFF in the comments (below)…

[Image via WENN]

The post Jussie Smollett’s Brother Pens Op-Ed, Claims ‘Empire’ Star Is Telling The Truth & Has Night Terrors appeared first on Perez Hilton.

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