Prosecutor: Jussie Smollett Bought ‘Designer Drugs’ from Brother Who Helped Stage Attack

Empire actor Jussie Smollett purchased “designer drugs” from one of the brothers who allegedly helped stage an attack on himself in Chicago last month, text messages show.

Prosecutors said Smollett gave detailed instructions to the accomplices, Abimbola “Abel” and Olabinjo “Ola” Osundairo, who helped him stage the attack January 29, including telling them specific slurs to yell, urging them to shout “MAGA country” and even pointing out a surveillance camera that he thought would record the beating.

“[T]ext messages between Defendant Smollett and Abel revealed that Abel was a source of designer drugs for Defendant Smollett,” reads the bond proffer by Cook County State Attorney office prosecutors. “Specifically, since the spring of 2018, on several occasions, Defendant Smollett requested Abel to provide him with ‘Molly,’ which is a street name for the narcotic Ecstasy.”

Police said Smollett planned the hoax because he was unhappy with his salary and wanted to promote his career. Before the attack, he also sent a letter that threatened him to the Chicago studio where Empire is shot, police said.

Smollett’s character on Empire will be removed from the final two episodes of this season in the wake of his arrest on charges that he staged a racist, anti-gay attack on himself last month in downtown Chicago, producers of the Fox TV show announced Friday.

The announcement came a day after Smollett turned himself in to police, appeared in court on a felony charge of disorderly conduct for allegedly filing a false police report, and left jail after posting bond for $100,000.

“While these allegations are very disturbing, we are placing our trust in the legal system as the process plays,” Empire executive producers said in a written statement. “We are also aware of the effects of this process on the cast and crew members who work on our show and to avoid further disruption on set, we have decided to remove the role of ‘Jamal’ from the final two episodes of the season.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.