Jussie Smollett testified Monday that he used marijuana and cocaine alongside and “made out” with one of the men who he allegedly paid to attack him.
Smollett claimed that he first met Abimbola “Bola” Osundairo, a crew member on “Empire,” in 2017 at a nightclub. The two did drugs together and then visited a gay bathhouse, he said, where they “made out” and engaged in “touching.”
“We were in a club, you go to the bathroom, go to a stall, do a bump, do a bump and then just kind of keep going in and then we went to the bathhouse,” Smollett testified, according to the New York Post.
Jussie Smollett testifies on stand — first night he met Bola Osundairo they did weed and cocaine together then went to a club. Then went to a bath house together.
— Matt Finn (@MattFinnFNC) December 6, 2021
Jurors previously saw a text message sent by Smollett in which he told Bola Osundairo, “I love you,” adding that he was behind Bola and his brother Olabinjo “100%.” Smollett sent the text shortly after he appeared on “Good Morning America” in 2019, when he blamed supporters of then-President Donald Trump for the attack. (RELATED: FLASHBACK: Top Democrats Called Jussie Smollett Hate Crime Hoax A ‘Lynching’)
Both Osundairo brothers testified that Smollett paid them to attack him. Olabinjo Osundairo added that Smollett’s goal was to gain attention on social media, and that police were not supposed to be involved in the hoax. Smollett told the brothers to pull their punches when attacking him so he would not be “seriously hurt,” prosecutor Dan Webb told the jury.
Smollett paid the brothers $3,500, which they allege was payment for the hoax attack, and he claims was the price of workouts and a meal plan.
Smollett is charged with six counts of disorderly conduct in connection with making false reports to police and faces up to three years in prison if convicted. A first-time offender, he is likely to receive probation and community service if convicted.