Abimbola “Bola” and Olabinjo “Ola” Osundairo, the brothers that Jussie Smollett reportedly paid to attack him in January 2019, have broken their silence in dramatic fashion about the infamous hoax.
Their recollection of the assault was detailed in FOX Nation’s five-part docuseries “Jussie Smollett: Anatomy of a Hoax,” which premiered on March 13.
The “Empire” star made headlines four years ago when he publicly claimed that two MAGA supporters attacked him while he was in Chicago.
The incident was initially investigated as a hate crime, but investigators uncovered evidence that led them to believe the three men planned it together.
In the end, Jussie was accused of masterminding the attack and paying Bola and Ola $3,500 to participate in it. He was convicted of five felony counts of disorderly conduct for making a false police report in December 2021.
Months later, in March, he was sentenced to 30 months of felony probation, 150 days in jail, and ordered to pay more than $120,000 in restitution as well as a $25,000 fine. Earlier this month, the actor’s attorneys appealed the conviction and requested a new trial.
In a viral clip from the fourth episode of the series, “What Really Happened,” the Osundairo brothers described how they said they approached Jussie, detailing the meet-up time and location.
They recall arriving near Smollett’s building around 2 a.m. as instructed to follow and taunt him with MAGA comments and “the famous racial slurs he wanted us to yell.” Moments later, a tussle ensued.
“I threw him to the ground. He wanted it to look like he fought back. That was very important for him,” recalled Bola, who also happens to be Jussie’s former fitness trainer.
He continued, “After I threw him to the ground, he had no bruise … I wanted it to look more real, so then I threw him to the ground, after I threw him to the ground, I used my knuckle and gave him a noogie.”
Ola said he followed up by pouring bleach and hot sauce on the actor before he placed a noose on Jussie’s head. From the beginning, many on social media doubted the validity of Jussie’s claims. Reactions to the video were just as plentiful.
“Clout chasing. They are loving this moment. And gon drag it out. Jesus.”
“This is embarrassing and yet entertaining on so many levels.”
“@foxnews there’s no reason for this documentary at all. You all know what you’re doing and it’s sickening.”
Elsewhere in the docuseries, Bola said he and Ola felt accomplished when the ordeal made headlines.
“A friend of mine had sent me a screenshot of the front page of, I believe a TMZ article, that showed that Jussie had been attacked. I ran to my brother and was like, ‘Yo, mission accomplished. We did it,’ ” he said.
Jussie hit back at claims that he orchestrated the assault to further his career in a 2022 interview with SiriusXM personality Sway.
“If I had done something like this it would mean that I stuck my fist in the pain of Black Americans in this country for over 400 years,” he said at the time.
Throughout the media frenzy surrounding him, Jussie’s family, including his sister, actress Jurnee Smollett, have stood by him. His former co-star Taraji P. Henson was also vocal about supporting her TV son.
