CHICAGO — Former “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett took the stand for the second day in his trial over the alleged hoax attack against him in January 2019.
In his second day of testimony, Smollett was reprimanded multiple times by the judge for getting into testy exchanges with prosecutor Dan Webb and refusing to give straight answers to questions. Judge James Linn warned Smollett several times to stick to answering the questions put before him and to refrain from getting into arguments.
The second day of Smollett’s testimony picked up again on Smollett’s story as he continued to deny allegations that the 2019 attack against him was staged. Smollett began his testimony repeatedly snapping at Webb as the prosecutor peppered the actor with questions about the incident.
“There was no hoax,” Smollett said shortly after questioning began amid his numerous denials, “so any question you ask about that is going to be denied.”
Webb soon came to Instagram messages between Smollett and Bola Osundairo, Smollett’s former trainer who has testified to faking the attack on Smollett for $3,500. Smollett and Osundairo messaged each on Instagram throughout the evening of January 28, 2019, and early into the next morning in what prosecutors said was coordination to set up a hoax hate crime. Smollett claimed that he and Osundairo were communicating over a planned workout.
He thinks he’s all that and a bag of chips truth is he’s a bag of —-. If he gets any time I hope an inmate makes him see the floor.