Nobody wins now the Jussie Smollett case is over — especially not victims of hate crimes

Undoubtedly the saddest part of this case is who it will silence in future

Nobody who has followed the news surrounding Jussie Smollett over the last few weeks can claim it hasn’t been a rough ride. The actor, who claimed he was subjected to a racist and homophobic attack and was subsequently accused of fabricating that claim, today said that he had been “truthful and consistent since day one… I would not be my mother’s son if I was capable of one drop of what I’ve been accused of.”

Smollett’s lawyers said that his record had been “wiped clean”, while his family said he’d been entirely vindicated and reiterated that they believed he had been the victim of a violent attack. They spoke of a “heartbreaking” ordeal. His supporters pointed out that Chicago Police have a murky history with racism and claimed that Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel — who called the decision not to prosecute Smollett for lying “a whitewash of justice” and told him he had faced “no accountability for the moral and ethical wrong of his actions” — kept police dash camera footage of the shooting of Laquan McDonald from being released for a year. Seventeen-year-old McDonald, who was African-American, was shot 16 times by Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke in 2014. Police originally claimed he had been walking towards officers with a knife and “behaving erratically”, but the dash cam footage proved that he had, in fact, been walking away when he was gunned down. In 2017, a report into the Chicago Police Department commissioned after McDonald’s death found it had a culture of “excessive violence”, especially towards minorities.

On the other side, Trump supporters claimed that Smollett having his charges dropped “proves white privilege isn’t real”. They spoke of being unfairly stereotyped as violent thugs by Smollett and bitterly wondered how much his lawyer cost him. Trump himself already referred to Smollett as someone who makes “racist and dangerous comments” when Chicago police announced they were investigating him for a potential hoax.

Where are we left, now the dust has begun to settle? Everyone still seems to agree that the Osundairo brothers, who were accused of attacking Smollett, were given a $3,500 cheque by the actor; he claims that was payment for nutrition and personal training. They aren’t facing any charges, though Smollett’s lawyer said she wanted police to investigate them.

Smollett himself has voluntarily forfeited the $10,000 bail bond he paid when he was first arrested, reportedly so that he can “move on with his life without bother”. It’s quite possible that he now might be able to walk back into his role on Fox’s Empire.

Members of the Chicago Police Department have been critical of the District Attorney's decision to allow Smollett to walk free but acknowledged that he doesn’t pose any risk to the public. They aren’t facing a lawsuit for their handling of the case at this time. Neither they nor Smollett will have a day in court to explain what drove them to believe what they did.

In some ways, then, all four major players in the case are in as good a position as they could be after such a huge controversy. But the fallout is likely to be extremely damaging. Smollett, who was previously known for speaking passionately about LGBT rights and racial justice, will now have his motives called into question every time he opens his mouth. He is likely to face career repercussions. Victims of homophobic and racist hate crimes like the one he described are also less likely to be believed in the future, not to mention dissuaded from reporting by the media circus which surrounded then judged Smollett from day one.

Chicago police officers will have their own motives called into question: if they believe Smollett did make it all up, why were they (presumably) unable to put together a strong enough case to prosecute for the DA? Is it because there were major holes in their case and they realised they’d acted on their prejudices rather than a realistic theory? Was it because they made a deal in a back room because Smollett is a wealthy and well-known celebrity figure? Questions will be asked, suspicions will arise, and trust in the police department — whether or not the asker believes Smollett — will be eroded.

Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo, the Nigerian bodybuilders who were seen on CCTV purchasing red hats and ski masks at a corner store before the alleged attack, will also come under scrutiny. Were they exploited by a Hollywood celebrity desperate for a pay bump? Were they exploited by a racist police department looking for a way to pin an attack on anybody except white, MAGA hat-wearing Trump supporters? Were they cynical and cruel enough to attack a person they knew as a colleague and friend while using hurtful, racist words against him?

Undoubtedly the saddest part of this case is who it will silence: victims of hate crimes and honest campaigners against all forms of prejudice. Whatever happened on that Chicago street one night in February, the result has been to drive an even bigger wedge between two sides in an already divided nation. In the past, we might have said it was impossible for a case to end badly for every single person involved; today, we saw exactly what that looks like.