Friday, March 1, 2019

A Hollywood Hoax? - Updated

Issue dated February 27, 2019


I admit I'm fascinated by the Jussie Smollett case and now it's the cover story on the new issue of The Hollywood Reporter. The article is not unsympathetic to Smollett and ponders what may have led him to concoct a hoax, if in fact he did:

Debbie Allen, who directed Smollett in a 2015 episode of Empire, admitted at the Women’s Image Awards that she doesn’t know what to feel because she knows the actor personally. “I’m just disturbed that something has happened to him, that he would do this, if he has in fact done this,” she said. Over Oscar weekend, one Hollywood insider who has known Smollett and his family for decades told THR, “He’s a good guy, but he’s also an actor, and actors sometimes crave attention, and that comes out in weird ways.”

Apparently Smollett was well-liked at Empire:

...To say that Smollett had been well liked on set and by network and studio executives does not do his previous reputation justice. Many of his colleagues, who would only speak on background, call him one of the most popular castmembers on the show. They cite his collaborative nature, warm demeanor and exceptional work ethic. One executive who spoke to THR seemed close to tears when wrestling with the possibility that Smollett faked the whole thing. "I'm trying to filter all this information through the experiences I've had with him," says a high-ranking show source who worked closely with Smollett, "and it doesn't connect." While their reactions to the arrest vary, one theme does emerge: None of his co-workers saw this coming.

I've said before here in the blog that fame in America is not for the faint of heart. Was trying to stay famous, or trying to get more famous, behind Jussie's alleged hoax?

One question is whether the pressures and anxieties of modern fame played any role in Smollett's seemingly inexplicable behavior. "One of the darkest corners of fame is that it becomes addictive," says Donna Rockwell, a clinical psychologist who specializes in fame and celebrity, "and then you are so afraid of becoming a has-been or yesterday's news that you might do something desperate."

...Then came Empire in 2015, the kind of white-hot success that Jussie had no doubt been imagining for himself since childhood. He was cast as Jamal, a sensitive R&B singer and black sheep of the show's dynastic musical family. Total audience numbers grew by 10 million viewers over the course of the first season to 23.1 million and a 9.3 in the 18-to-49 demo when the last episode aired, making it the highest-rated broadcast freshman season since Grey's Anatomy a full decade earlier. The first tie-in soundtrack sold 2 million equivalent units and debuted at No. 1 on Billboard. And with songs produced by hitmakers Timbaland and Rodney Jerkins, Smollett was easily the musical breakout of the cast. He got a deal with Columbia.

But with success came added expectations and pressure. His private life was no longer his own. Empire execs held meetings, sometimes without Smollett present, where his sexuality was discussed, according to media reports. The year Empire debuted, in 2015, Smollett went on Ellen. He deliberately avoided addressing his sexual orientation during the audience participation portion of the show, but afterward approached Ellen DeGeneres and the two spoke backstage. Smollett told DeGeneres that he had "never been in the closet" but also never proactively said he was gay. That second interview, which DeGeneres later integrated into her broadcast, was widely accepted as Smollett's coming-out moment. In 2017, several nude pictures, purportedly of Smollett, were passed around on the social media platform Tumblr.

The article ends with this: 

Smollett has remained silent since his Feb. 21 hearing. "There's an incredible amount of pressure on people to stay relevant, to stay white hot in celebrity," says psychologist Rockwell. "To just be a so-so actor isn't enough. With child actors, this is embedded in their psyche from an early age. It would be more frightening to a child star than someone who didn't start that young. They're always afraid that this could be the end." There's no doubt that Smollett is feeling the white-hot light of fame now. It just may not be the kind of light he had envisioned for himself. (Read the article here.) 

I wish I had some pithy words of wisdom to tie this story up in a nice little bow but I don't. Based on everything I've read so far, my perception is that Smollett did indeed stage this hoax and the police appear to have enough evidence to nail him for it. He could very well be going to jail and that's just based on the false police report. There's also the matter of the threatening letter. In the press conference last week Chicago Police Superintendent Johnson stated that Jussie sent the letter to himself although that hasn't been confirmed by the FBI. 

Smollett is scheduled to be in court again on March 14 and I'm wondering what his lawyers are saying to him as they prepare for that day. Do they feel they can offer a credible defense if the case were to go to trial, or are they gently trying to get him to avoid a trial by pleading guilty? My guess is it's the latter. A couple of weeks ago his lawyers tried to derail the grand jury by saying they had "new information," a "hail mary" maneuver that didn't work. The grand jury met the next day and in the press conference the day after that Police Command Edward Wodnicki, who led the investigation, said there was no new information. Do Jussie's lawyers have any new information now? Maybe. 

Finally, at least for now, last night the Osundairo brothers issued an apology through their lawyer:



You can read my first post about Jussie Smollet here; click here for previous posts about fame.

Updated on Friday, March 8:


Posted by at
Labels: , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)