Jussie Smollett Says Don Lemon Tipped Him Off About Investigation

Jussie Smollett took the stand in his criminal trial on Monday December 6 which Fox News’ Matt Finn reported live from the courtroom. The actor testified that he had correspondence with CNN‘s Don Lemon during the early parts of the Chicago Police Department’s (CPD) investigation into the incident.

Jussie Smollett, on trial for allegedly staging a hate crime against himself. ‘Empire’ alum is charged with six counts of felony disorderly conduct for filing false police report about alleged attack.

In his court testimony on Monday, Smollett said under oath that during the investigation, he received a text from CNN’s Don Lemon. The text was supposedly relaying information that the Chicago PD didn’t believe his account of what happened.

Fox News’ Matt Finn reported the new developments in the case from the Chicago courthouse where prosecutors and Smollett’s defense team are at odds. Police believe that Smollett paid brothers Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo $3,5000 to stage the attack for public attention, which the “Empire” actor denies. 

Lemon told his viewers at the time that the story was “personal” since he and Smollett had been acquaintances and were in constant communication since the alleged incident. Lemon said Smollett told him his version of the story, which he admitted raised lots of questions. He stressed that while Smollett is “innocent until proven guilty,” he still “squandered the good will of a whole lot of people” if his story wasn’t true.

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