Jussie Smollett is pictured in Los Angeles this week amid claims he had a sexual relationship with one of the men who ‘attacked’ him.
Amid coronavirus lockdowns the 37-year-old actor broke cover and was spotted out solo on Monday getting into his SUV.
The former Empire star looked casual in sweatpants and a hoodie while he appeared to be talking on the phone.
Out and about: Jussie Smollett is pictured out in Los Angeles on Monday amid claims he had a sexual relationship with one of his ‘attackers’. Smollett is accused of concocting a hoax race attack in 2019
The outing came amid claims Smollett had a sexual relationship with one of the Nigerian brothers who he allegedly orchestrated his ‘hoax’ attack with.
An anonymous insider told Page Six Wednesday that the Empire star, 37, and his purported ‘attacker’ Abel Osundairo also visited an upscale Chicago bathhouse together on multiple occasions.
The insider further claimed that there is likely to be records of the pair’s visits to the establishment, and says they could be seized as part of Smollet’s upcoming trial on felony disorder conduct charges.
Earlier this year Smollett said he’s willing to ‘fight or die’ to be cleared after pleading not guilty to renewed charges of ‘lying to police’ over his alleged hoax race attack.
The actor returned to a Chicago courtroom in February to plead not guilty to felony charges that he lied to police over a ‘hoax’ attack he was accused of making up in January 2019.
Legal woes: The former Empire star looked casual in sweatpants and a hoodie while he appeared to be talking on the phone
Asked about the charges he said: ‘It is definitely frustrating but you just gotta, it’s fight or die at this point, right. I don’t claim to be innocent, I am innocent.’
Smollett has been charged with six counts of felony disorderly conduct.
His attorney, Tina Glandian, also submitted a motion to the circuit court to dismiss the case based on a double-jeopardy challenge, claiming that Smollett had already been punished in the original case by forfeiting his original $10,000 bond.
Smollett told police that two masked men attacked him as he was walking home in the early hours of January 29, 2019.
He said they made racist and homophobic insults, beat him and looped a noose around his neck before fleeing, and that at least one of his attackers was a white man who told him he was in ‘MAGA country,’ a reference to President Donald Trump’s campaign slogan, ‘Make America Great Again.’
He also said they called him the N-word.
Abel (left) and Ola (right) Osundairo – An anonymous insider told Page Six Wednesday that the Empire star, 37, and his purported ‘attacker’ Abel Osundairo visited an upscale Chicago bathhouse together on multiple occasions
Abel (left) and Ola (right) Osundairo arrive at court in February of this year after Smollet was indicted again following an investigation by a special prosecutor
Nigerian brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo were then identified by police as the people he’d said attacked him. The pair knew Smollett and told the authorities he paid them to attack him in a staged incident to allegedly boost his celebrity profile and salary.
In an extraordinary press conference, then police chief Eddie Gallagher accused Smollett of inflaming race relations in Chicago and of wasting police time.
The case then went to a grand jury which returned a stunning, 16-felony indictment that would have put Smollett behind bars for more than 50 years if he had been convicted.
In March 2019 Smollett pleaded not guilty to 16 counts before the Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s office abruptly announced it was dismissing the case, angering police and City Hall.
Smollett arrives at court in February of this year, after he was indicted on six felony counts of lying to police
There was outrage and calls for Foxx to be investigated herself for prosecutorial misconduct.
Special Prosecutor Dan Webb was appointed last August to examine what occurred in the case.
After the investigation, Smollett was indicted in February on six counts pertaining to making four false police reports.
As judges and special prosecutors for that task were tossed around, the city came out swinging in civil court. They sued Smollett, asking him to reimburse them for all the money they said they’d wasted investigating what they believed were bogus claims.
Smollett counter-sued, accusing the city and Eddie Gallagher of malicious prosecution. He lost his job on Empire and became a pariah in the showbiz world he was allegedly trying to ascend through.
Scandal: Smollet pictured in January 2019 suffering injuries to his face in the hospital after the alleged attack
