We’re coming up on the year anniversary since Jussie Smollett first claimed that he’d been assaulted by two men one late January night in Chicago, and since then it’s been a rollercoaster ride, with hairpin turns worthy of the show that made his name, Empire. It looks like the actor may never return to that program, but perhaps something even bigger will come his way: As per the Chicago Tribune (and picked up by Deadline), the prosecutor investigating Smollett’s actions is demanding a year’s worth of Google data.
The Tribune reports that prosecutor Dan Webb had obtained two warrants for emails, private messages, photographs, location data, and more. The hope is to get to the bottom of not only what happened, but why the 16 charges filed against Smollett — who is alleged to have staged the attack and lied about it to the police, although he’s maintained his innocence even as the public seems to have turned mostly against him — were suddenly dismissed months back.
The details of what Webb demanded from Google have not been revealed, nor is it clear whether they have yet to obey the two warrants. In the meantime, Smollett has not received any media work since the incident took unpredictable turns, and has since sued the city of Chicago for demanding he pay a fine of $130,000 to go towards the costs of the investigation into his allegations. The city has since doubled that fine. Stay tuned for the next plot twist.
(Via Chicago Tribune and Deadline)
