Actor Jussie Smollett Googled himself dozens of times in the days after he claimed to be the target of a hate crime.
Chicago Police reviewed Smollett’s search records in the wake of the Jan. 29 incident, finding that the actor had Googled himself more than 50 times, according to CBS Chicago.
Chicago Police released Jussie Smollett’s search history in the days following the reported attack.
He googled “Jussie Smollett” at least 50+ times.
(Not all searches pictured here)@cbschicago pic.twitter.com/vXFSFe6lck
— Charlie De Mar (@CharlieDeMar) June 25, 2019
Police opened a hate crime investigation after Smollett reported that two men attacked him, threw bleach on him, and wrapped a noose around his neck. Police later concluded that the crime was staged and charged the actor with filing a false police report.
The Cook County State’s Attorney Office dropped the charges against Smollett, sparking outcry from Chicago public officials and the police department.
Cook County Judge Michael Toomin decided on June 21 to approve a special prosecutor to investigate the state’s attorney office’s handling of the Smollett case and, if appropriate, refile the charges against Smollett and possibly more against the Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx.
Tina Glandian, of Geragos & Geragos, who represents Smollett, said in a statement to the Washington Examiner that the search history in question was by the Osundairo brothers and not her client: “The notation on the top of the page which reads ‘Smollett search, seems to refer to the fact that the searches related to him. Entry 116 on 1/31/2019 is probably most telling, with a search for ‘visa on arrival nigeria’ (the brothers were traveling to Nigeria from Istanbul at that time). Numerous text messages between the brothers unsealed in the discovery also reference their Visas. Furthermore, entry 117 for ‘akc reunite’ is related to a pet recovery service (I believe the Osundairo brothers had at least one dog and a parrot; Jussie does not have any pets).”
UPDATE: This story has been updated to include the statement by Smollett’s lawyer, Tina Glandian.
