Ola and Abel Osundairo initially claimed they were paid by Jussie to pull off the alleged attack. / (c) Instagram
The two Nigerian brothers who were infamously involved in the Jussie Smollett indictment after being at one point accused of helping to stage the alleged attack are now turning the tables on Smollett’s legal team with a new defamation suit of their own!
Abel and Ola Osundairo have officially filed suit against Mark Geragos, his firm, and associate Tina Glandian, who represented Jussie in Chicago court over the last several months, for what the brothers claim is defamatory comments made about their sexuality by Glandian.
Related: Jussie’s Older Bro Pens Powerful Op-Ed For ‘BET’ Claiming Innocence
According to court docs first obtained by The Blast, the Osundairo brothers are really going hard after the lawyers — specifically Glandian.
The lawsuit docs state (below):
“[Smollett’s legal team] made public defamatory statements against Plaintiffs, which were published broadly in Illinois by major news outlets such as the Chicago Sun-Times, the Chicago Tribune, and WGN Radio. Moreover, these tortious statements involve a hoax conducted in Illinois and orchestrated by Mr. Smollett. Finally, and importantly, these statements also impacted the reputation of Plaintiffs, who are employed and live in Illinois … As a result of Ms. Glandian’s comments, Plaintiffs have suffered significant emotional distress and feel unsafe and alienated in their local Chicago community. This is because Ms. Glandian, a very famous attorney, falsely and publicly stated Plaintiffs have committed a gruesome hate crime, lied under oath, and intentionally misled CPD.”
Whoa!!!
OK, so, a couple things of note here: first, it’s interesting that the brothers’ lawsuit directly call out Smollett’s alleged attack as a hoax. No ifs, ands, or buts about it — they are making their statement about the alleged attack and completely discounting it in so many words. (Smollett, of course, has long stuck by his insistence that the attack actually did occur.)
Second, and more importantly for the purposes of this lawsuit, the Osundairo brothers are going after one specific set of comments from Glandian, as alluded to in the passage above: an interview she did on the Reasonable Doubt podcast in which she alleged that Abel and Jussie had at one point engaged in “homosexual sex acts together.”
Related: Jussie Re-Surfaces In Los Angeles
That has riled up the boys, as they acknowledge homosexual activity is illegal in their home country of Nigeria, and not something they’d engage in. Furthermore, Abel (also known by his nickname Bola) was particularly taken aback by what those comments meant for the brothers’ family and their overall safety back home in the west African nation (below):
“Ms. Glandian’s globally broadcasted statements that Bola Osundairo is homosexual endangers him and the lives of his Nigerian family … Furthermore, Ms. Glandian’s statements indicating Plaintiffs actually criminally battered Mr. Smollett without his consent are patently false and defamatory, as Mr. Smollett originated, planned, and orchestrated the attack.”
Because of all this, the brothers are now seeking unspecified damages in their defamation lawsuit.
It should be noted there’s a distinction here, of course: Smollett himself is NOT on the hook for this lawsuit, but rather, his legal team — though it would stand to reason if there’s a deposition, or this lawsuit goes to trial, it’s probably pretty likely Smollett will have to testify.
What do U think about this, the latest development surrounding Jussie Smollett’s never-ending Chicago attack saga, Perezcious readers?? Share your opinions with us in the comments (below)…
[Image via Instagram]