Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Entertainment
Entertainment

Sen. Kamala Harris Says She Won’t Comment Again in Alleged Smollett Attack as ‘Facts Unfold’

Posted byBy Associated Press | Published on: CommentsComments (0)

Sen. Kamala Harris says she won’t comment again on the investigation into a reported attack on “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett until it’s completed.

Speaking Monday to reporters in Concord, New Hampshire, during her first presidential campaign trip to the state, the U.S. senator from California says that “the facts are still unfolding” and that while she is “very concerned” about Smollett’s initial allegation and it should be taken seriously, “there should be an investigation.”

Kamala Harris

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., speaks to media at Gibson’s Bookstore & Cafe, Monday, Feb. 18, 2019, in Concord, N.H. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Harris previously tweeted that the alleged attack was “an attempted modern day lynching.” Police in Chicago say their investigation into the report that the actor was attacked by two men yelling slurs has “shifted” after two brothers were questioned and released. Smollett’s lawyers say the actor feels “victimized” by reports that he played a role in the assault.

The Presidents Day holiday weekend brought Harris and other Democratic presidential candidates to New Hampshire, the state with the first-in-the-nation primary in 2020. Also campaigning in the Granite State were Cory Booker of New Jersey and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota.

Still independent.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

The wider picture isn't any steadier. Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under, it's rarely the ones built to center a Black perspective from the ground up that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Related Stories

Back to top