Aired: 3/13/2023
In the early hours of a polar vortex, Empire actor Jussie Smollett is assaulted in Chicago by two Trump supporters shouting racial and homophobic epithets. The world condemns the attack, but local police and journalists already know: none of it is true.
Chicago police have two men in custody and a mountain of video evidence tying them to the attack on Jussie Smollett. When Jussie appears on national TV and says 'these are the guys that did it', the Osundairo brothers must make a hard choice.
Jussie Smollett turns himself in on 16 counts of lying to police and the world asks, 'why?' What circumstances led a talented young actor and rising star political activist to stage a fake hate crime with himself as the victim?
Chicago prosecutor Kim Foxx drops the charges and Jussie Smollett takes a victory lap. Chaos ensues. Was dropping the charges a self-interested political move intended to scapegoat police? Or was Smollett actually attacked that night?
For the first time, the Osundairo brothers return to the scene of the crime to walk through the events of that fateful night. Meanwhile Jussie Smollett's journey through the criminal justice system comes to an end with a shocking twist.
Nancy Grace breaks down the twists and turns of the Jussie Smollett case explored by new series Anatomy of a Hoax.
