Two brothers who helped stage a hate crime attack against actor Jussie Smollett won’t be able to collect damages from Smollett’s lawyers for defamation, a federal judge in Chicago ruled Friday.
Since shortly after Smollett reported he had been attacked by two men near his downtown apartment in 2019, brothers Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo have claimed they were hired to pretend to beat up the former “Empire” star while shouting racist, homophobic slurs at the gay, Black actor.
That led to criminal charges against Smollett for lying to police, and to a trial where the brothers became star witnesses – and stars of a documentary about the hoax.
But that meant the pair could not claim they were defamed by Smollett’s attorney, Tina Glandian, U.S. District Judge Mary Rowland wrote in an order dismissing the case.
“The ways in which plaintiffs voluntarily injected themselves into this public controversy are myriad,” Rowland wrote, listing among other things the Osundairos hiring a publicist to field media requests immediately after their arrest and negotiating a deal for a documentary within weeks of Smollett’s arrest.
The brothers' attorney, Gregory Kulis, said Friday they were disappointed with the ruling and would consider an appeal.
"Other than their documentary, you have not seen them on any interviews," Kulis said, noting that Glandian's remarks were made after police released the brothers and never sought charges for assaulting Smollett.
"There were some facts that got them some publicity, but there have been some things that have been very bad for them,” he said.
Smollett’s conviction was overturned last month by the state Supreme Court.
Smollett has maintained his innocence, and the charges against him initially were dropped just weeks after his arrest in a controversial deal with prosecutors.
In their lawsuit against Glandian, the Osundairos claimed they were defamed during a 2019 "Today Show" interview” when host Savannah Guthrie asked how Smollett could have mistaken the Osundairos, who are Black, for white men.
Glandian pointed to a video online where Abimbola Osundairo reenacted a monologue by the Joker from “Dark Night” while wearing white makeup.
In her ruling, the judge noted that the brothers had admitted buying red “MAGA” hats and making homophobic comments as they pretended to attack Smollett, even saying Chicago was “MAGA country.”
“Plaintiffs admit that that they attacked Smollett, that they dressed and acted like white supremacists during the attack, and that they shouted racist and homophobic slurs,” Rowland wrote. “Plaintiff Abimbola testified that he and his brother committed this attack and did so for the purpose of getting media attention.
“Plaintiffs are essentially attempting to hold Glandian liable for discussing their own admitted conduct,” the judge added.
Glandian's partner, attorney Mark Geragos, has filed a lawsuit against the Osundairos, Kulis and the brothers’ other attorneys for malicious prosecution.
That case was dismissed by a judge, but an appeal is pending before in Illinois appellate court.
