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Celebrating 25 Years Of The West Wing

Empire in the Media: Read It In Billboard

Trini

By Trini
in Empire

Princess Sparkle
Message added by Princess Sparkle

Remember: Keep your thoughts on the Jussie Smollett situation on his situation only - not Chicago politics, not policing in general, not politics in general, not the state of the country in general, not OJ, not Michael Avenetti, not anyone except Jussie Smollett. 

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SimoneS
SimoneS

Whatever his motivation, it doesn't matter, all that that matters is the damage that his false hate crime allegation to people who are being violently attacked and victimized. 

jsbt
jsbt

Yeah, no. Agree to disagree. I believed Jussie Smollett's story wholeheartedly. It echoed the times we live in. It broke my heart. I was a fan. Now all I do is see red when I think about it. It m

RealReality10
RealReality10

There are always going to be a subset of people who will question a story of a hate crime or sexual assault.  Those minds are closed and there is no opening them. The disservice JS did was with r

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Ohwell

Ohwell

20 minutes ago, Neurochick said:

Someone on another board suggested that maybe someone on Jussie's legal team has knowledge of a HUGE no no involving the Chicago PD, or even the mayor himself.  

Meh.  It's easy for someone on the internet with little to no knowledge of anything about the case, to suggest that there's some kind of dirt on them/him.  Internet fodder.  

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RealReality10

RealReality10

1 hour ago, Apprentice79 said:

I read that there was some evidence that the check Smollett wrote the brothers was for physical training and thus they couldn't tie it to a faked attack with any certainty. No doubt, there was something else fishy about the brothers.  Plus, the police overplayed their hands with their excessive charges and that press conference where they presented their evidence should have been put in front of a jury and not in front of the press. Not to mention the police were leaking like a sieve with information tainting the jury pool. 

The evidence regarding the check seemed to be one of the brothers sending an "online diet plan" and telling JS to do 45 min of cardio, along with the fact that the memo line said that the payment was for training and a diet plan.  But I don't know if even rich people are paying 3500 for an online diet plan and being told to do cardio workouts.

I think it's entirely possible and maybe probable that the brothers recanted or refused to testify because JSs team got to them.

Along with whatever went on with SA Foxx.  I think JS probably somehow thought that this was going to clear everything up, but I don't think that's the case.

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RealReality10

RealReality10

1 hour ago, Neurochick said:

Yes, if it had been some rich WASP who'd gotten off, no problemo.  But a brown person, nope, it's UNFAIR.

If it had come to trial, the whole thing would have been a circus.  People would be saying, why slam him when how many cops have gotten away with shooting and killing unarmed black people, and the city's wasting time on this nonsense?  

I have enough annoyance to go around for Lori louglin, Felicity Huffman and and JS.

A trial may have been a circus, but at the very least he could have publicly aired his case.  This hush up, IMO, does nearly nothing to exonerate him.  And I can't imagine anyone saying that faking a hate crime is nonsense because real hate crimes are so very serious.

59 minutes ago, Neurochick said:

Huh?  Didn't OJ kill two people....allegedly of course?

Yeah, but I mean I guess since he, like JS was not found guilty of a crime, he is innocent?  Or at least that's how I see some of the reasoning, like....well they dropped charges so he is innocent and guilt free!  I also think Casey Anthony did it.

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Anela

Anela

24 minutes ago, RealReality10 said:

The evidence regarding the check seemed to be one of the brothers sending an "online diet plan" and telling JS to do 45 min of cardio, along with the fact that the memo line said that the payment was for training and a diet plan.  But I don't know if even rich people are paying 3500 for an online diet plan and being told to do cardio workouts.

I would believe that kind of price - it actually seems rather low to me. Just going by things like meal deliveries, supplements, etc, plus the workouts. 

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RealReality10

RealReality10

1 minute ago, Anela said:

I would believe that kind of price - it actually seems rather low to me. Just going by things like meal deliveries, supplements, etc, plus the workouts. 

Really?  I live in California and paid like $200 for a detailed meal plan and I think like $50 per IN PERSON physical training sessions.  And this was from someone with multiple degrees in her fields of study.  

He wasn't getting supplements or meal delivery, he was literally being told to eat peanut butter, chicken and fish and to do 45 minutes of cardio.

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Anela

Anela

15 minutes ago, RealReality10 said:

Really?  I live in California and paid like $200 for a detailed meal plan and I think like $50 per IN PERSON physical training sessions.  And this was from someone with multiple degrees in her fields of study.  

He wasn't getting supplements or meal delivery, he was literally being told to eat peanut butter, chicken and fish and to do 45 minutes of cardio.

Yes, really. I said that's what I personally considered to be low, considering celebrities and what they usually have. I didn't say that he was telling the truth. 

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Jane Tuesday

Jane Tuesday

For the sake of argument, let's say the Osundairo brothers did assault him, for some reason only they know.  And let's say he had no idea it was them, and he really did pay them $3,500 for a fitness plan.

My question would be, why did he claim that they were white?  Not that he didn't see them, or they were concealed.  He stated uncategorically that they were white.

That's clearly a lie, which calls into question his entire story, IMO.

I'd be curious how those who are defending JS (in general, not specifically here) explain that part of his story.

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thebigboot

thebigboot

17 minutes ago, Jane Tuesday said:

For the sake of argument, let's say the Osundairo brothers did assault him, for some reason only they know.  And let's say he had no idea it was them, and he really did pay them $3,500 for a fitness plan.

My question would be, why did he claim that they were white?  Not that he didn't see them, or they were concealed.  He stated uncategorically that they were white.

That's clearly a lie, which calls into question his entire story, IMO.

I'd be curious how those who are defending JS (in general, not specifically here) explain that part of his story.

Or you know, the fact there’s no video evidence of anything he claimed? Or how his story kept changing? 

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RealReality10

RealReality10

(edited)
1 hour ago, Anela said:

Yes, really. I said that's what I personally considered to be low, considering celebrities and what they usually have. I didn't say that he was telling the truth. 

Maybe with supplements and meal delivery, but a meal plan and and workout suggestions without in person training sessions?  Maybe celebrities just like paying too much for things?  Who knows, maybe it's fun getting fleeced when you have a lot of money?  

Edited by RealReality10
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thebigboot

thebigboot

16 minutes ago, Dee said:

It's nice to see justice prevail for once.

You must have a different definition of justice than everyone else. I mean if there was justice wouldn’t we have suspects on who assaulted him? Though, once a liar always a liar. He sunk his own career by embellishing a situation no one can prove it even happened. I guess you were right, justice was served.

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Neurochick

Neurochick

3 hours ago, Ohwell said:

Meh.  It's easy for someone on the internet with little to no knowledge of anything about the case, to suggest that there's some kind of dirt on them/him.  Internet fodder.  

Meh, what if someone on that legal team knew something about a case like this. (yes it was in California but my point is what if one of his lawyers knew about a huge no no that the Chicago PD had done.  

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Ohwell

Ohwell

5 minutes ago, Neurochick said:

Meh, what if someone on that legal team knew something about a case like this. (yes it was in California but my point is what if one of his lawyers knew about a huge no no that the Chicago PD had done.  

And my point is that it's pure speculation without any facts to corroborate those previous claims you mentioned.  It happens all the time on the internet so I'd just prefer to wait and see what develops.

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Neurochick

Neurochick

(edited)
8 minutes ago, Ohwell said:

And my point is that it's pure speculation without any facts to corroborate those previous claims you mentioned.  It happens all the time on the internet so I'd just prefer to wait and see what develops.

I think we all speculate about all sorts of things here.

Edited by Neurochick
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ParadoxLost

ParadoxLost

So now that no court case is coming up, the next question is whether the JS camp has paid his "trainers" enough money and extracted confidentiality agreements to avoid them finding the highest paying "journalist" to tell their story.

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RealReality10

RealReality10

6 minutes ago, ParadoxLost said:

So now that no court case is coming up, the next question is whether the JS camp has paid his "trainers" enough money and extracted confidentiality agreements to avoid them finding the highest paying "journalist" to tell their story.

Those two probably signed an NDA for the price of a value meal.   I wonder if JS is going to continue to use their "training service" since he paid all that money for it.  Maybe he should get a refund, all things considered.

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Anela

Anela

3 hours ago, Jane Tuesday said:

For the sake of argument, let's say the Osundairo brothers did assault him, for some reason only they know.  And let's say he had no idea it was them, and he really did pay them $3,500 for a fitness plan.

My question would be, why did he claim that they were white?  Not that he didn't see them, or they were concealed.  He stated uncategorically that they were white.

That's clearly a lie, which calls into question his entire story, IMO.

I'd be curious how those who are defending JS (in general, not specifically here) explain that part of his story.

I'm not defending him. I believed him at first, but not anymore.

3 hours ago, RealReality10 said:

Maybe with supplements and meal delivery, but a meal plan and and workout suggestions without in person training sessions?  Maybe celebrities just like paying too much for things?  Who knows, maybe it's fun getting fleeced when you have a lot of money?  

I don't know. I can rarely afford anything that celebrities recommend. 

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Dee

Dee

2 hours ago, Stats Queen said:

Well, you are definitely ride or die, I’ll give you that.

Waiting for the case to play out doesn't make one ride or die.

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shapeshifter

shapeshifter

(edited)
3 hours ago, Margohill said:

Well this looks very similar to an episode in Empire.

I admit to not having watched more than a handful of Empire episodes, but if Jussie's situation was scripted by any writer of a show that features crime plots, he would definitely have secretly flipped on whomever orchestrated the crime for cash.

Edited by shapeshifter
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pennben

pennben

(edited)

A. Chicago cops generally have a horrible history of racism. I don’t think that many of them get away with it means they are innocent  

B. Jussie Smollett faked a hate crime. I don’t think that him getting away with it means he is innocent 

C. Both of the above statements can actually be true. 

Edited by pennben
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Apprentice79

Apprentice79

29 minutes ago, RealReality10 said:

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2019/03/27/entertainment/jussie-smollett-wednesday/index.html

Interesting.  Apparently this ISN'T an exoneration and happens all the time?  And apparently the brothers were ready to testify.  LOL @ jussie smollett thinking that he was vindicated.

For some reason, I think magats also underestimated the fallout from this decision.

Their lawyer wanted them to have an interview on TV to speak out and they refused. So, she quit in anger.  

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TaraS1

TaraS1

Getting away with something like this for the low celebrity price of $10,000 is one thing, but giving a smug press conference about your "innocence" afterwards takes it to a whole other level of arrogant douchebag-ness.  This guy sucks.

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shapeshifter

shapeshifter

25 minutes ago, TaraS1 said:

Getting away with something like this for the low celebrity price of $10,000 is one thing, but giving a smug press conference about your "innocence" afterwards takes it to a whole other level of arrogant douchebag-ness.  This guy sucks.

Speaking of sucking, I am such a sucker for his proclamations of innocence, especially those invoking his mom. Every time I hear the clip of him saying it, all I can think is: What ever happened to innocent until proven guilty? Maybe he's a better actor that he's given credit for?

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RealReality10

RealReality10

9 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Speaking of sucking, I am such a sucker for his proclamations of innocence, especially those invoking his mom. Every time I hear the clip of him saying it, all I can think is: What ever happened to innocent until proven guilty? Maybe he's a better actor that he's given credit for?

I think that's an important sentiment, but realistically I think everyone know or knows OF someone who did something terrible but didn't get caught or weren't punished for it.  

He seems like a pathological liar and I think people like that are really good at being convincing liars. 

We only know what we know, and jussie smollett has made sure that the record is sealed so no one can fully know the truth.  And he doesn't appear in any rush to explain all the inconsistencies.  

So...while I think innocent until proven guilty is nice, I think most everyone kinda thinks oj did it, even though he technically wasn't "proven" guilty.

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thebigboot

thebigboot

34 minutes ago, RealReality10 said:

I think that's an important sentiment, but realistically I think everyone know or knows OF someone who did something terrible but didn't get caught or weren't punished for it.  

He seems like a pathological liar and I think people like that are really good at being convincing liars. 

We only know what we know, and jussie smollett has made sure that the record is sealed so no one can fully know the truth.  And he doesn't appear in any rush to explain all the inconsistencies.  

So...while I think innocent until proven guilty is nice, I think most everyone kinda thinks oj did it, even though he technically wasn't "proven" guilty.

The record isn’t sealed just yet!

Chicago demands Smollett pay 130,000

The most interesting part is this: “The letter goes on to say they have the goods, saying, "The Chicago police investigation revealed that you knowingly filed a false police report and had in fact orchestrated your own attack."”

This will get interesting, they’ve given him 7 days to pay. No matter what he does he’s screwed. If he pays it up people will assume guilt, but the fact they’ve stated they’ve got proof means if he fights it all this will come out.

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RealReality10

RealReality10

https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/3298234002

Anthony Anderson says that he hopes jussie smollett wins the NAACP image award.

"I hope he wins," Anderson added. "I’m happy for him that the system worked for him in his favor because the system isn’t always fair, especially for people of color. So I’m glad it worked out for him." 

This is shades of OJ all over again "yeah, he did it, but the system is unfair to poor, underserved minorities, so it's a win even when any minority gets off, even if they did do it" This is the guy we want the system to benefit?  Was it okay that OJ benefitted from the rightfully rage poor minorities had at police brutality?

Right now Curtis flowers sits on death row in Mississippi, after being tried six times for a crime he probably didn't commit.  When THAT guy gets out, it will be something worth celebrating.  That will be something to be happy about, not this.  Goodness.

Maybe we should celebrate when the system works out to exonerate or clear someone who deserves it?  

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thebigboot

thebigboot

8 hours ago, RealReality10 said:

https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/3298234002

Anthony Anderson says that he hopes jussie smollett wins the NAACP image award.

"I hope he wins," Anderson added. "I’m happy for him that the system worked for him in his favor because the system isn’t always fair, especially for people of color. So I’m glad it worked out for him." 

This is shades of OJ all over again "yeah, he did it, but the system is unfair to poor, underserved minorities, so it's a win even when any minority gets off, even if they did do it" This is the guy we want the system to benefit?  Was it okay that OJ benefitted from the rightfully rage poor minorities had at police brutality?

Right now Curtis flowers sits on death row in Mississippi, after being tried six times for a crime he probably didn't commit.  When THAT guy gets out, it will be something worth celebrating.  That will be something to be happy about, not this.  Goodness.

Maybe we should celebrate when the system works out to exonerate or clear someone who deserves it?  

That is very telling statement from Anthony Anderson. Guess people need to stop whining about privilege now.

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RealReality10

RealReality10

38 minutes ago, SimoneS said:

RME. The crew deserves to be put out of work also? 

The sad thing is, they really don't.  

But, I think that the message is important enough to risk the collateral damage.  

I also think that there is so much content now being created that an experienced crew member should be able to find another job.

* I also don't know what rme means?  

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Jane Tuesday

Jane Tuesday

(edited)

I honestly don't blame the cast for believing him.  They're his friends and colleagues.  I think it's natural they want to think the best about someone they've felt close to.  I'd have a hard time believing any of my friends or family could do something like this, too.

Edited by Jane Tuesday
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SimoneS

SimoneS

(edited)
9 minutes ago, RealReality10 said:

The sad thing is, they really don't.  

But, I think that the message is important enough to risk the collateral damage.  

I also think that there is so much content now being created that an experienced crew member should be able to find another job.

* I also don't know what rme means?  

I don't know how you can be blasé about other people's livelihoods as if jobs are falling out of the sky, especially for people of color in that industry where they are already struggling.  "RME" means "rolling my eyes." 

Edited by SimoneS
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Chaos Theory

Chaos Theory

(edited)

J get the whole innocent until proven guilty stuff.  And I hate society rush to convict anyone in the court of public opinion one way or the other.  That being said there is such a thing as reading a room.  He could have simply said he was happy with the way things went and had no further comment.  That would probably piss people off as well but it would at least show some insight he has lacked since his whole thing started.

Edited by Chaos Theory
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thebigboot

thebigboot

15 minutes ago, Chaos Theory said:

J get the whole innocent until proven guilty stuff.  And I hate society rush to convict anyone in the court of public opinion one way or the other.  That being said there is such a thing as reading a room.  He could have simply said he was happy with the way things went and had no further comment.  That would probably piss people off as well but it would at least show some insight he has lacked since his whole thing started.

But even his supporters are guilty of this. Kamala Harris and Corey Booker wanted an anti lynching law because of this, Ellen Page had that interview where she attacked everyone under the sun for the attack. I agree wholeheartedly with you, it’s just insane how he tripled down on his lies and expected no fall out.

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RealReality10

RealReality10

(edited)
1 hour ago, SimoneS said:

I don't know how you can be blasé about other people's livelihoods as if jobs are falling out of the sky, especially for people of color in that industry where they are already struggling.  "RME" means "rolling my eyes." 

I see.  I don't think it's blase to recognize that there is a far greater risk in accepting jussie smollett back onto that show, actively supporting and  rewarding him for faking a hate crime.

It sucks that there would be collateral damage, but it always sucks when there is collateral damage, but I don't think that means that you accept something like this because of that.  

Not sure about jobs falling out of the sky, but I know that it is a golden age for content creation.  Hulu, Netflix, Amazon prime, even YouTube are all creating original content.  There are more cable channels now than there have ever been.  Everyone is shifting towards scripted vs. reality content so I cannot see how it would be impossible to get another job as an experienced crew member off a hit tv show.

Also, do crew members really think that working on a television show is a job that lasts forever?  

Edited by RealReality10
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Margohill

Margohill

The entire justice system in this country has been extremely cruel to black people. Not trying to clear JS of his wrongdoing if it is true but thousands of rich white kids get exonerated daily for crimes which their black counterparts are thrown in jail for years on end. I guess the chickens have come home to roost in this country. The lines of justice have been blurred. The scale had been tipped in favor of one side for too many years. It doesn't surprise me when the disadvantaged are happy that for once, the scale has been tipped in the favor. Just my own honest opinion.

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RealReality10

RealReality10

(edited)
9 minutes ago, Margohill said:

The entire justice system in this country has been extremely cruel to black people. Not trying to clear JS of his wrongdoing if it is true but thousands of rich white kids get exonerated daily for crimes which their black counterparts are thrown in jail for years on end. I guess the chickens have come home to roost in this country. The lines of justice have been blurred. The scale had been tipped in favor of one side for too many years. It doesn't surprise me when the disadvantaged are happy that for once, the scale has been tipped in the favor. Just my own honest opinion.

I respect this opinion, but fully disagree with it and am deeply saddened that an actor with all the privileges and advantages who faked a hate crime for attention, standing and money is the beneficiary of this mindset.

To me, this isn't a "win" at all, or a great balancing of the scales in any way.

Edited by RealReality10
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Trini

Trini

  • Author

'Gabourey Sidibe opens up about directing that 'gigantic' episode'

Quote

“I thought they were going to give me some, like, holdover episode where not a lot of things happen,” jokes Sidibe, who stars on Empire as Becky. “It would be kind of lame, but instead they gave me this gigantic episode where everybody gets laid and Lucious kills someone. [Laughs] I was like, ‘Wow, this is a lot to do, guys. You must really believe I can pull it off.’”

For the 35-year-old actress, who had previously directed the 2016 short The Tale of Four, she was most nervous to take on the many musical performances featured in the episode. “I know I can direct a story, but I didn’t know if I could direct a musical story yet,” she admits. “I went back through all the other performances and thought about what I haven’t seen and what really I want to see.” She even pulled from past dance numbers she’d long been obsessed with, specifically Spike Lee’s School Daze for Tiana and Treasure’s cheerleader face-off.

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thebigboot

thebigboot

City of Chicago sues Jussie Smollett to recoup money spent on this investigation

“A spokesman for the City says, "Mr. Smollett has refused to reimburse the City of Chicago for the cost of police overtime spent investigating his false police report on January 29, 2019.  The Law Department is now drafting a civil complaint that will be filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County.  Once it is filed, the Law Department will send a courtesy copy of the complaint to Mr. Smollett''s L.A. based legal team."

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crowceilidh

crowceilidh

It is interesting to me that Jussie's situation has killed my love for Empire.  I haven't watched an episode of Empire (or Star which was getting too tedious anyhow) since it happened and have just erased the shows from my PVR.  I think I must have felt that Jussie was the most important character (after Taraji and Terence) of the boys, but I didn't know that I did until this happened.  I'm always seeing people threatening to quit watching shows and feeling, "Oh yeah?  We'll see", but it's actually really happened to me.

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