The Jussie Smollett story unravelled extremely quickly. Within a day, most of us went from believing the Empire actor when he said that he was the victim of a hate crime to understanding that he's likely guilty. Information was presented to the police that proves that Jussie Smollett had actually planned out the attack on himself, sending messages to Ola and Abel Osundairo before the incident and paying them $3,500 for "training." Smollett was indicted on sixteen charges last week and now, the attorney for the Osundairo brothers has appeared on GMA to discuss the case.
The brothers have been accused of carrying out the staged attack, feeling "betrayed" by Smollett now that everything has been made public information. Their attorney seemed uncomfortable speaking in front of the cameras today, noting that they trusted the Empire actor. "My clients were just taken advantage of by someone they trusted," said Gloria Schmidt, the attorney for Ola and Abel. "This was someone who the brothers thought could help their career. Obviously, Mr. Smollett has connections, he had a good position with Fox, so this was someone that they had trusted to consider their best interests."
Schmidt continued by saying that the brothers are "regretful" to be caught up in this mess. She also re-asserted their innocence. "I can tell you with confidence they did not commit a hate crime," said Schmidt.