Defense Argues Osundairo Brother Assaulted Jussie Smollett in Ploy to Get Hired as His Security Guard

Chicago, Ill. — The man who testified that in 2019 former Empire star Jussie Smollett conspired with him to stage a racist and anti-gay attack against the actor actually roughed Smollett up to scare him so he could land a $5,000-a-week gig as his security guard, a defense lawyer alleged Thursday.

Abimbola Osundairo also promised he wouldn’t testify against Smollett if Smollett paid him millions of dollars, lawyer Shay Allen said. Osundairo denied both allegations.

Allen, a lawyer representing Smollett, cross-examined Osundairo on Thursday morning. Osundairo is one of two brothers who prosecutors and police allege conspired with Smollett to stage a fake attack against actor just after 2 a.m. on January 29, 2019, including yelling racist and homophobic slurs at him, punching and kicking him, dousing him with bleach, hanging a noose around his neck, and yelling out “this is MAGA country.”

Osunsdairo, who worked with Smollett in minor roles on Empire, testified Wednesday that Smollet wanted to stage the hate crime after receiving a hateful letter at the studio that he felt studio leaders weren’t taking seriously enough. He said he went through with Smollett’s plan because he felt indebted to the actor for helping him to get a better role on the show, and because he and Smollett had become “very good friends, I would even call him my brother.”

Smollett faces six counts of felony disorderly conduct for filing a false report. If convicted, he faces up to three years in prison but could also be let off with probation and community service.

Allen questioned Osundairo about the nature of his friendship with Smollett, implying that he only befriended Smollett to use him in his goal of becoming a “big-time” actor. “When you first met Jussie your goal was to get something from him?” Allen asked, and Osundairo denied.

Allen suggested that Osundairo was not actually Smollett’s friend, but his drug dealer. Osundairo acknowledged that he’d gotten drugs for Smollett – marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy – but he was not a drug dealer. “I’m not a drug dealer, because I don’t sell,” he said.

And Allen suggested that Osundairo was both homophobic and was at one time Smollet’s boyfriend. “When did you and Jussie start dating?” Allen asked, to which Osundairo replied, “We were never dating.”

“The sexual tension between you and Jussie, was this the way you were trying to progress your acting career?” Allen asked.  “I didn’t know there was sexual tension,” Osundairo replied.

Allen painted the idea that Smollett wanted Osundairo and his brother to rough him up just days before he was scheduled to shoot a historic gay wedding on Empire as far-fetched.

Allen suggested that after Smollett showed Osundairo the hateful letter he’d received at the Empire studio, Osundairo said that Smollett should hire him for a security job that pays $5,000 per week. That, Allen suggested, was the reason why Osundairo and his brother jumped Smollett – Osundairo wanted Smollett to be so scared that he’d hire him to be his guard.

“You wanted to scare him into hiring you as security so you could go to L.A .and get paid $5,000 a week,” Allen said, providing no evidence. Osundairo denied the allegation.

Allen suggested that Osundairo has benefited from the media attention around the case, including shopping for book deals and doing TV interviews, which Osundairo denied.

“You told Jussie you would go away for $2.9 million,” Allen said, again providing no evidence, and again which Osundairo denied.

When asked by special prosecutor Dan Webb about the impact the criminal case has had on his acting career, Osundairo said he was dropped by his talent agency and hasn’t received any more acting work, and has instead turned his focus to boxing.

Webb also suggested that if there was no orchestrated plan, Osundairo and his brother would have no reason to believe that Smollett would be out in below-zero temperatures walking to Subway early on a Tuesday morning. “If he had not told you in advance that he would be at that intersection at 2 a.m., would you have any way to know he would be there at that time?” Webb asked Osundairo. He said he would not.

Osundairo’s older brother, Olabinjo Osundairo, is testifying Thursday afternoon.