Celebrity News

Jussie Smollett’s brother says actor is suffering from ‘night terrors’

That’s a big “if.”

In a Sunday op-ed titled “What If Jussie Is Telling The Truth?” embattled “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett’s eldest brother doubled down on defending the accused hoaxster — while claiming Jussie is suffering from “night terrors” following the race-hate attack he allegedly staged.

“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,” brother Jojo Smollett, 41, wrote in the piece published by BET.

“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.”

Jussie, who is black and gay, claims a pair of bigots spewed racial and homophobic vitriol while dousing him with bleach and roping a noose around his neck in Chicago on Jan. 29.
But the actor’s tale fell apart when the Chicago police determined he paid two Nigerian brothers to stage the attack in order to drum up sympathy and a fatter paycheck for himself — something Jussie’s brother continues to deny.

“To suggest that he staged his own attack to boost a sagging career is ludicrous,” Jojo wrote, bragging of his 36-year-old brother’s “advancing career” and “business savvy mind.

“He wouldn’t need to roll around on the icy ground of a Chicago street, staging an attack on himself to make this happen.”

Jussie and Jojo both claim the payment was for personal training.

Jussie was hit with felony disorderly conduct charges for allegedly faking the attack, but prosecutors abruptly dropped the charges in March, resulting in a national outcry.

Still, the brother insisted that the actor had been convicted in the court of public opinion, despite the “weak” case being dropped.

“To define this experience as unjust would be an understatement,” Jojo wrote, later adding that he is “definitely not asking you to feel sorry for my brother.”

He concluded: “I am simply hoping there are some conscious-minded people out there who, instead of carelessly victim blaming and shaming, want to loudly ask the simple question: ‘What if Jussie is telling the truth?’”

While the charges were dropped, the city of Chicago has filed a civil complaint against Smollett for his refusal to reimburse $130,000 in overtime payments to police officers who investigated the case.