There might be an explanation for the check Jussie Smollett wrote to the Osundairo brothers after all.
The Empire actor was charged with felony disorderly conduct Wednesday night following the brothers’ testimony before a grand jury. The Chicago P.D. claimed the actor paid Ola and Abel Osundairo $3,500 to fake an attack, but new reports say there’s more to the story.
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According to TMZ, the brothers made a deal with Smollett to train him for five weeks so he could get in better shape before filming an upcoming music video.
Smollett reportedly told Ola he wanted abs like his, so the brothers agreed to train him and give him a 5-week nutrition plan. The actor told the brothers that he would pay them for their services, but they didn’t discuss a specific amount.
A few days before the “attack,” Smollett reportedly wrote the brothers a check for $3,500. The memo line read: “5 weeks training nutrition plan.”
The outlet reports that the brothers told the grand jury they were paid for the 5-week program and not for the “attack.” Another source told the outlet that the brothers said they thought the amount was “a little high,” but there was no discussion about the money being part of a scheme.
During the grand jury testimony, the brothers also denied sending Smollett the threatening letter mailed to him eight days before the attack.
Smollett surrender to police ahead of his bond hearing Thursday, and was later released after paying 10 percent of the $100,000 bail. Following the events of the day, Smollett’s legal team released a statement maintaining his innocence.
“Today we witnessed an organized law enforcement spectacle that has no place in the American legal system. The presumption of innocence, a bedrock in the search for justice, was trampled upon at the expense of Mr. Smollett and notably, on the eve of a Mayoral election. Mr. Smollett is a young man of impeccable character and integrity who fiercely and solemnly maintains his innocence and feels betrayed by a system that apparently wants to skip due process and proceed directly to sentencing.”
Since his indictment, Smollett has been dropped from the final two episodes of the fifth season of Empire.
“The events of the past few weeks have been incredibly emotional for all of us. Jussie has been an important member of our Empire family for the past five years and we care about him deeply. While these allegations are very disturbing, we are placing our trust in the legal system as the process plays out,” a statement released by producers read.
“We are also aware of the effects of this process on the cast and crew members who work on our show and to avoid further disruption on set, we have decided to remove the role of ‘Jamal’ from the final two episodes of the season.”
