Elevatorgate, Sex Tapes And “Break” Babies: The Biggest Scandals Of This Decade, Including A Few You Probably Forgot About

Source: Joseph Marzullo/WENN.com / WENN

Jussie Smollett

I don’t think we’ll ever know what happened on that cold January night this year when actor and singer Jussie Smollett told Chicago police he’d been attacked by two men who hurled racial and homophobic slurs at him saying, “This is MAGA country.” He claimed the assault was motivated by his open criticism of the Trump administration and said he was sent a troubling letter weeks before the attack. However, the story came into question by police, and he was charged with filing a false police report. The men reportedly involved in the attack who were seen on camera buying the tools used in it were brothers who had worked with Smollett as extras on Empire. They alleged that Smollett paid them to stage the attack. Police believed Smollett staged his own attack in order to get more pay on his hit Fox show.

By March though, all charges against Smollett were dropped, the public court file was sealed and a deal was made between the State Attorney’s office and Smollett’s defense team so that he would forfeit his bond and do 16 hours of community service in return. The whole shabang isn’t over though, because the FBI has been investigating the case and why charges were dismissed. Smollett has also been sued by the city of Chicago in a civil suit. He has countered though, suing the city for “malicious prosecution.”