Jussie Smollett’s lawyers suggested in court on Thursday that two brothers at the center of the case attacked the actor to scare him into hiring them as his personal security, and later, to avoid prosecution, falsely told the police that Mr.
Smollett had planned it all as a hoax. The brothers, Abimbola Osundairo and Olabinjo Osundairo, have each testified that Mr.
Smollett gave them detailed instructions on where and how to mildly attack him in January 2019. “You attacked Jussie because you wanted to scare him into hiring you as security,” said a lawyer for Mr.
Smollett, Shay Allen, “so you could go back to L.A. and get paid $5,000 a week, didn’t you?” “No, sir,” Abimbola Osundairo replied.