Two brothers involved in Jussie Smollett case sue lawyers for defamation

The two men who were at the center of the Jussie Smollett fiasco are now part of the flurry of litigation surrounding the case

Melanie Eversley

Apr 23, 2019

Ola and Abel Osundairo, the brothers who alleged Empire star Jussie Smollett paid them to carry out a hoax attack, are suing the actor’s lawyers Mark Geragos and Tina Glandian for defamation.

The brothers say in the complaint filed in U.S. District Court, that Smollett’s attorneys defamed them by claiming they carried out the alleged homophobic and racist attack of their own accord. He claimed he was attacked in January in Chicago but later was charged with making it up.

In March, Cook County state’s attorney Kim Foxx announced all charges were being dropped against Smollett, but Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel called the decision “an abomination” and the Chicago Police Department maintain the actor staged a hoax.

The Osundairo brothers, in their complaint, said Smollett’s lawyers were trying to benefit themselves in floating allegations that they were responsible for the alleged attack that landed Smollett in the hospital.

“Defendants made these comments knowing they were untrue to distract from Mr. Smollett’s farce and to promote themselves and the Geragos & Geragos Law Firm,” the complaint alleges. “Statements indicating Plaintiffs actually criminally battered Mr. Smollett without his consent are patently false and defamatory, as Mr. Smollett originated, planned, and orchestrated the attack.”

The lawsuit also alleges that Glandian “falsely submitted that Plaintiffs may have been wearing ‘whiteface’ while attacking Mr. Smollett — again stating Plaintiffs battered Mr. Smollett and adding the implication that this battery was a hate crime.”

As of late Tuesday morning, neither Geragos nor his firm had offered comment to the suit.

The brothers also allege that Glandian said on television that Ola Osundairo and the actor had engaged in gay sex and the suit says that the Nigerian American brothers who often visit Nigeria could be jailed in Nigeria for taking part in gay sex acts.

The brothers are seeking an unspecified amount of damages in the lawsuit.