Just do it.
LOS ANGELES — A Los Angeles-based civil rights activist held a press conference Sunday, calling for the arrest of actor Jussie Smollett and saying he believes the “Empire” star lied about being a victim of a hate crime.
Najee Ali, who is also the director of Project Islamic HOPE, said false claims make real incidents of racist attacks and homophobia easier to dismiss.
“It’s a slap in the face. We have many members of the black community and the LGBTQ community who have been the victims of racism and hate crimes, so for Smollett to say that he was a victim…and we believe is a lie…certainly is an injustice to those true victims…,” Ali said. “Jussie Smollett must be brought to justice for lying.”
Ali said Smollett’s story was given the benefit of the doubt at first, but over the last few days, the “campaign of lies continued to be unraveled.”