The Nigerian-American brothers accused by actor Jussie Smollett of attacking him in January have filed a federal lawsuit against his legal team, including celebrity lawyer Mark Geragos.
Ola and Abel Osundairo filed a defamation lawsuit against Smollett’s legal team on Tuesday, April 23, claiming the actor’s lawyers defamed them in legal documents after the Empire star said they attacked him outside his Chicago condo.
In court documents, Geragos stated, “The brothers led a criminally homophobic and violent act against Mr. Smollett.”
The Osundairos’ legal team say Geragos (pictured in court with client Chris Brown) knew this statement was untrue.
The Osundairo brothers released a statement which was read by their Attorney Gloria Schmidt during a press conference in Chicago on Tuesday morning.
In the statement the brothers prepared themselves, they said their reputation was harmed by fabricated lies that they are anti-homophobic.
“We have sat back and watched lie after lie being fabricated about us in the media. Only so one big Loe can continue to have life. These lies are destroying our character and our reputation in our personal and professional lives. Those who know us personally know that we don’t have hate for anyone. That is not who we are. We try to spread as much love and positivity with whoever we come into contact with. We will no longer sit back and allow these lies to continue.”
Police arrested the brothers in February when they arrived in Chicago on an international flight from Nigeria. They were released without charges a few days later.
The case shifted after the brothers confessed they were hired by Smollett to attack him so he could blame the attack on Trump supporters and boost his celebrity status as the face of anti-homosexual hate.
Smollett, who is biracial and openly homosexual, told police the attackers hurled racial and anti-homosexual slurs at him.
The 36-year-old actor was arrested and eventually charged with 16 felony counts of lying to police. The case took another bizarre twist when Cook County’s top prosecutor Kim Foxx dropped all 16 charges against Smollett and sealed his court record.
Smollett was hit with a $130,000 lawsuit by the city of Chicago earlier this month after he missed the deadline to pay for costs the city incurred investigating his lies.
