The two Nigerian brothers, Ola and Abel Osundairo, who allegedly faked the Jussie Smollett attack, have sued the actor’s lawyers, Mark Geragos and Tina Glandian, for defamation.
They claimed the attorneys lied to the media and tried to make it appear they were the culprits in a real, homophobic and racist attack. The brothers Tuesday filed the case in Chicago federal court, claiming Jussie “used his clout as a wealthy actor to influence (the brothers), who were in a subordinate relationship to him and were aspiring to ‘make it’.”
The suit says when Tina Glandian went on ‘GMA’, “Today” and the Reasonable Doubt podcast after the charges against Jussie were dismissed, she told a string of lies… including the brothers wore whiteface during the attack and they were involved in an illegal steroid trafficking ring.
The lawsuit also claims Glandian falsely claimed one of the brothers “engaged in fornication with Mr. Smollett.”
As for Geragos, the suit claims he “repeatedly indicated that plaintiffs conspired to criminally attack Mr. Smollett, and by doing so, implied plaintiffs committed perjury” to the Grand Jury and conspired to make false statements to the Chicago PD.
The suit doubles down and says the brothers never knew Jussie would go to the cops… rather, he was staging the “attack” for social media. They say as a result of the alleged defamation, they suffered extreme emotional distress, humiliation, anxiety, damages to their reputation, and damages to current and prospective business relations.
Ola and Abel have had a tough time finding work, both as actors and personal trainers, in the wake of the scandal. However, it’s interesting the brothers did not sue Jussie, who also claimed they were the culprits in the alleged racist and homophobic attack.
On Feb. 16, shortly before police would have had to file charges or release them, the Osundairo brothers told detectives that Smollett had paid them to stage the attack, in which they beat him, hurled homophobic and racist slurs, draped a noose around his neck and shouted a President Trump campaign slogan.
They were released and later testified before a grand jury, which on March 8 indicted Smollett on 16 felony counts of lying to police about the attack. Weeks later, on March 26, prosecutors dropped all the charges against Smollett. The sudden reversal prompted cries of outrage from city officials and police, who maintained that Smollett enlisted the brothers, whom he hired as personal trainers, to stage the attack to help raise his profile and his salary on ‘Empire’.
After the charges were dropped, Smollett claimed he had been exonerated, which wasn’t the case, and he continues to assert his innocence in the alleged hoax.
“Mr. Smollett’s attorneys, faced with an outraged public, did not retreat after their success. Instead they doubled down, not simply affirming that Mr. Smollett was a wholly innocent victim, but that (the brothers) unequivocally led a criminally homophobic, racist, and violent attack against Mr. Smollett,” the lawsuit says. “(Geragos and Glandian) made these comments knowing they were untrue to distract from Mr. Smollett’s farce and to promote themselves and (their law firm).”
The city has since demanded that Smollett repay them over $131,000 for the overtime cost of the police investigation. He has refused. On April 4, the city said it was preparing to file a lawsuit to recover the money.
The Osundairo brothers, both born and raised in Chicago, are seeking a jury trial for their lawsuit. “They told the truth, they could have remained silent, but they told the truth to the police and to the grand jury,” Schmidt said at the press conference. “We want to make sure the lies and malice attacking our city, our police department and my clients are met with truth and healing.”