It’s so disappointing when someone who has a platform on the national stage completely blows the opportunity to do good for apparently selfish reasons. If what the police are saying is true about Jessie Smollett staging an attack against himself, then this young man has done a lot of harm to the people he claims to care about.
The intersectionality that he represents as a gay black man in a nation that continues to struggle with both homophobia and racism doesn’t need a staged hate crime to draw attention to the animosity that is evident almost everywhere. If what the police allege is true, then his ridiculous scheme only heightens the skepticism faced by true victims of hate crimes. Crime victims may hesitate to report incidents for fear greater skepticism and doubts from law enforcement and juries. The public will question the veracity of victims more often. The reporting of these crimes will be much more cautious and rare. Crime victims and their families will loose. It’s already rare to for crimes against people of color to make the headlines; that might just get worse. Actual perpetrators will be given a pass to victimize marginalized individuals because they will realize that no one will believe the victims.
Jessie Smollett has done real damage. He has given the racist and homophobic Trump supporters the ability to call themselves victims of false accusations. They can claim that the left are out to get them and to make them look bad.
I find it hard to believe the reports that say that Smollett staged the attack in the hopes for more pay on his television series. That doesn’t make sense. I think it’s more likely that he wanted to highlight the truth that gays and black men are targets of violence in this nation by white nationalists in the age of Trump. I don’t doubt that this is true, but instead of helping to highlight the problem, he has only created more problems for those with credible complaints and given cover to the actual haters. So, what is to be done?
First, since for the moment he is sticking to his story, let it play out in court. If he never admits wrongdoing, then we move on with the ambiguity expecting that he will be a model citizen moving forward. Some will believe him and others will not. He will have to find a way to live with the damage to his career, reputation, and doubts about his character. If he admits to wrongdoing, then I hope he will apologize, admit to his true motive, seek therapy because his thinking is clearly amiss, and then find a way to redeem himself through community service and positive activism. Whatever the outcome, I hope he is able to find his way back to the stage as he is a very talented singer and actor.