Defamation suit by brothers in Smollett case can go forward

A judge in Chicago ruled Friday that an attorney for Jussie Smollett might have defamed two Black brothers who testified that they participated in a fake racist and homophobic attack on the actor when she suggested they had been wearing 'whiteface.'

The Chicago Tribune reported that U.S. District Judge Mary Rowland's ruling centers on comments Tina Glandian made on NBC's "Today" show in March 2019, shortly after the Cook County State's Attorney announced it was dropping charges accusing Smollett of lying to police about the incident two months earlier.

Discussing how Smollett had told police that one of his attackers was white, Glandian said that the very dark-skinned brothers might have "put makeup on" to disguise their color. Further, she criticized Chicago police for their alleged failure to investigate an online video showing one of the brothers "in whiteface doing a joke monologue with white makeup on."

Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo filed a defamation lawsuit, alleging that the comments were part of a effort to portray them as racist, homophobic and violent men who truly attacked Smollett.

On Friday, Rowland suggested that Glandian's comments could be seen as defamatory, an apparent attempt by the lawyer to "dispel the inconsistency in Smollett's story (the attackers had light skin) and bolster her contention that the plaintiffs (who are not light skinned) were Smollett's attackers."