Did you believe Jussie Smollett's story when he first told it?

First thing in my mind was “Is Empire’s ratings down?”

Of course not. It was too over the top. MAGA hats, ski masks, bleach, noose, 2am in below freezing temperatures-all of the details were extreme.

My first thought was how did the salad not spill during the tussle and how was he able to eat a sub with a broken or bruised rib?

I was doubtful - but thought no one would be so egocentric and stupid to make this up. Then I thought he would retract when questioned - but then he doubled down in the GMA interview. I forget actors are the apex of narcissism.

But we didn't know about the food surviving the attack until days later, R2. In fact, I don't believe any details about the salad have been made public.

When I first heard of it, I thought it was either a drug deal or sexual hookup gone bad. I also thought it might've been certain studio crew workers retaliating for whatever reason they had against him, or the show's producers and such.

But once I heard he refused to give the police his phone, and for them to turn off their body cams, I became real suspicious. I then knew he had something to hide, and that he was using the racial and homophobic angles as a front. By the time he interviewed with Robin Roberts, I knew his story was bullshit. And from the look on her face, so did she.

Robin Roberts giving Jussie the ol' stink-eye.

of course I didn't believe this bullshit.

He's a bad actor and a worse writer.

When DL was able to trace his request on how to send an anonymous letter to a thread here that matched the timeline. And a DL'er even told him to cut letters out of a magazine and he did! That's when I knew.

It did feel fake, but I also never thought an idiot like Trump would be the leader of the free world. So I just shrugged it off as a, "these are the times we live in" sort of thing.

I was skeptical. I couldn’t believe anyone had ever heard of him, let alone could recognize him on the street. Elton John is a recognizable gay man. Jussie Smollett not so much.

Plus, I highly doubt any MAGA fans watch Empire.

And it was ridiculously cold, so I couldn’t imagine how he was not bundled up. Making it even harder to recognize him as an obscure black gay man from a not particularly popular tv show.

No, it just sounded too perfect from the outset. Even in a crime infested second tier city like Chicago, criminals aren’t running around with a noose and bleach in subzero weather looking for a random celebrity encounter.

I first thought he was covering up the truth (probably drugs and/or sex). Not sure what happened to make me think he was faking the entire incident because he was being released from Empire and if he could show he had a huge supportive fan base, maybe they'd reconsider. I wondered if he could drive himself to the hospital, why couldn't he drive himself to get a sandwich? I saw video he took of him on the plane flying back to Chicago. He was entirely bundled up. He would have to be just as bundled up to walk to Subway, how would anyone recognize him as that Empire faggot, or nigger, or whatever he claims he was called? I know there's a lot of hate crimes out there that I don't know about but I just don't associate a scratched cheek with gay bashing. Too bad Olivia Pope retired.

Thought it was bullshit from the get go. Maybe a drug deal or hook up gone south, but no way did I view his story as believable.

I honestly never thought he orchestrated it and paid for it, planning to lie the entire time. I figured it was some fight, trick or drug deal gone wrong and his lies were to cover it up. That part shocked me. Was pretty clear to me that his story made no sense from the get go. I was cringing when I saw politicians and celebs backing him because I knew there was something rotten about the story.

Like many others here I thought it was probably a sex or drug deal gone bad.

I thought he was attacked for real but that he made up most of the details. The truth ended up being far worse than I ever could have imagined.

She even folded her arms towards herself like she was guarding herself, R6. I knew then she was not convinced.

It was the noose thing that made me say, 'Say, what?' This, coupled with his 'victim' photo, in which his face is still pretty, albeit with a SLIGHT scratch across his still smooth, clean face.

One would think, if one were attacked with a noose and bleach, rope burns would be everywhere, messed up lips, messed up skin due to one's fighting to save one's life.

It sounded odd from the start but, since I had no idea who he was, I didn't really care much. Not surprising that it turned out the way it did. What really shocks me are the people who are still coming to his defense despite the mountain of evidence. Family, I can understand but we're hearing from other supporters that it was completely out of character and he didn't seem like the kind of person who could/would orchestrate such a thing. I know, innocent until proven guilty but COME ON.

Gay men are bludgeoned so unrecognizably in gay bashings. His tiny scratch gave him away.

You're right, r21. This is how gay bashing looks like.

There were so many ridiculous details, this was the first thing I thought of:

It was ridiculous sounding, but I was willing to hear him and others out. But I'm rarely a 'I totally believe you because who would make up something so bad' sort of person. I always have some skepticism, even if that skepticism rarely overrides my compassion.

Details just didn't work for me, like the noose, and the concept that when there's a gay bashing, it doesn't stop at the injuries Smollett appeared with (so thanks R21).

As well I've seen enough narcissistic liars that my 'dar' for that sort of personality already pinged for the guy years ago (not that it necessarily means anything, or is correct at all).

I guess I was at a 2-3/5 for belief, with 0 being 'no way', 1 being 'eh its technically possible but I can't buy it' and 5 being a 'LISTEN AND BELIEVE'.

Yes, R21.

R22 I mean.

jussie must have made some poor gay bastard's life a living hell at some point.

I mean look at him. Absolutely beautiful but with raging NPD and talented at lying like a rug convincingly.

Really, R9? link to thread discussing this, please.

OP's POLL IS A BIASED, LOADED, SHAME ATTACK ON LIBERALS BY A RIGHT-WING PROPAGANDIST CREEP.

Notice his poll didn't provide an option for, "I didn't know the truth for certain and refrained from judgement pending a deeper investigation," which is the only right answer a decent person would give.

Instead, the OP demands that we should have assumed Smollett was lying all along, like OP did, because OP knows everything and exactly what those n*gg*rs get up to.

FLAME AND FREAK THE KKK POLLSTER!

R27 Beautiful? I don't find him remotely attractive. The bar is really low on DL.

I don't even know the details of this story, just that he apparently lied about being attacked. So why is this going on and on and on? Cops lie and we forget about it in a few days, white nationalists lie and we forget about it overnight. And why will we continue to hear about it for years into the future?

nope.

R31 is the whataboutism troll mixing in a little faux naïveté.

The story is still fresh which is why everyone is going on and on about it. In a week it will be forgotten by most. I didn't even know who Jussie Smollett was until this happened so, if his goal was to become infamous, it worked.

If r31 isn't a troll: it's because Jussie is a C-level celebrity whose lies hinged on the current political tensions involving race while reinforcing the image of a biased media directly on the heels of the Covington High débacle.

I knew it was BS as soon as he claimed he went to a Subway at 2am.

This didn't make the big news outlets here in the U.K. for a while because he has pretty much zero presence here, but the time it did, I'd gone from being a suspicious believer to a flat-out sceptic thanks to the wonders of DL.