In January 2019, ‘Empire’ actor Jussie Smollett was the victim of a racial and homophobic hate crime perpetrated in Chicago that shocked the nation and sparked an outcry from seemingly Hollywood’s entire A-list. But it didn’t take long for cracks in his story to emerge. In our season 1 finale, we explore the logic holes, inconsistencies, and downright bizarre twists in this years-long saga involving race, sexuality, police brutality and celebrity. Plus, a lot of tangents.

SOURCES
The Truth About Jussie Smollett? (Netflix)
https://www.biography.com/actor/jussie-smollett
https://www.out.com/entertainment/2016/1/28/exclusive-jussie-smollett-being-black-and-gay-hollywood
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/feb/03/im-the-gay-tupac-jussie-smollett
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/jussie-smollett-video-shows-brothers-red-hat-ski-mask/
https://time.com/5560430/jussie-smollett-donald-trump-fbi/
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/chicago-police-chief-eddie-johnson-fired-after-series-ethical-lapses-n1094301
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2021/12/02/jussie-smolletts-legal-team-begins-defense-at-actors-trial-for-allegedly-staging-and-reporting-a-phony-hate-crime/
https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/samuel-l-jackson-offered-support-for-smollett-in-letter-read-at-sentencing
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/21/jussie-smollett-conviction-overturned
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/25/jussie-smollett-chicago-charities-settle-lawsuit
https://www.wbez.org/shows/wbez-news/prosecutor-kim-foxx-defends-jussie-smollett-decision-in-wbez-interview/ddc80843-d6ee-4c25-a635-02ad49c325e6
https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-47317701
https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/national-international/jussie-smollett-2007-dui-arrest/4508/
https://www.businessinsider.com/jussie-smollett-2007-false-information-case-2019-2
https://variety.com/2025/film/news/jussie-smollett-hate-crime-netflix-documentary-comeback-1236487316/
https://www.citybureau.org/black-caucus-timeline
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/chicago-police-department-routinely-violated-people-s-rights-feds-say-n706586

In January 2019, &lsquo;Empire&rsquo; actor Jussie Smollett was the victim of a racial and homophobic hate crime perpetrated in Chicago that shocked the nation and sparked an outcry from seemingly Hollywood&rsquo;s entire A-list. But it didn&rsquo;t take long for cracks in his story to emerge. In our season 1 finale, we explore the logic holes, inconsistencies, and downright bizarre twists in this years-long saga involving race, sexuality, police brutality and celebrity. Plus, a lot of tangents.
SOURCES The Truth About Jussie Smollett? (Netflix) https://www.biography.com/actor/jussie-smollett https://www.out.com/entertainment/2016/1/28/exclusive-jussie-smollett-being-black-and-gay-hollywood https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/feb/03/im-the-gay-tupac-jussie-smollett https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/jussie-smollett-video-shows-brothers-red-hat-ski-mask/ https://time.com/5560430/jussie-smollett-donald-trump-fbi/ https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/chicago-police-chief-eddie-johnson-fired-after-series-ethical-lapses-n1094301 https://www.chicagotribune.com/2021/12/02/jussie-smolletts-legal-team-begins-defense-at-actors-trial-for-allegedly-staging-and-reporting-a-phony-hate-crime/ https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/samuel-l-jackson-offered-support-for-smollett-in-letter-read-at-sentencing https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/21/jussie-smollett-conviction-overturned https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/25/jussie-smollett-chicago-charities-settle-lawsuit https://www.wbez.org/shows/wbez-news/prosecutor-kim-foxx-defends-jussie-smollett-decision-in-wbez-interview/ddc80843-d6ee-4c25-a635-02ad49c325e6 https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-47317701 https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/national-international/jussie-smollett-2007-dui-arrest/4508/ https://www.businessinsider.com/jussie-smollett-2007-false-information-case-2019-2 https://variety.com/2025/film/news/jussie-smollett-hate-crime-netflix-documentary-comeback-1236487316/ https://www.citybureau.org/black-caucus-timeline https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/chicago-police-department-routinely-violated-people-s-rights-feds-say-n706586

Why do so many people believe things that aren’t true? In an era when claims of “fake news” come as natural as breathing, and social media allows lies to spread and multiply like viruses, the question feels more relevant than ever. From the teenage girls who convinced Sir Arthur Conan Doyle that fairies were real in the 19th century to “Balloon boy” in 2009, Hoax! will explore the most audacious and ambitious tricks in history. And along the way, we’ll uncover the reasons people let themselves be fooled, and how we can live our lives and engage with the media with a more critical eye. Co-hosted by Noble Blood’s Dana Schwartz and pop culture writer Lizzie Logan, we’ll bring you stories of pranks and grifts throughout history so big and bold they make us question why we believe what we believe in the first place.

 

**New episodes every other week**

Why do so many people believe things that aren&rsquo;t true? In an era when claims of &ldquo;fake news&rdquo; come as natural as breathing, and social media allows lies to spread and multiply like viruses, the question feels more relevant than ever. From the teenage girls who convinced Sir Arthur Conan Doyle that fairies were real in the 19th century to&nbsp;&ldquo;Balloon boy&rdquo; in 2009, Hoax! will explore the most audacious and ambitious tricks in history. And along the way, we&rsquo;ll uncover the reasons people let themselves be fooled, and how we can live our lives and engage with the media with a more critical eye. Co-hosted by Noble Blood&rsquo;s Dana Schwartz and pop culture writer Lizzie Logan, we&rsquo;ll bring you stories of pranks and grifts throughout history so big and bold they make us question why we believe what we believe in the first place.
&nbsp;
**New episodes every other week**

Hoax!

The Jussie Smollett Incident

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/ba2fd587-3f5f-4c54-92bd-b46d0141e6b5/transcript