The Truth About Jussie Smollett sets out to re-examine one of the strangest celebrity scandals of the last decade. In 2019, Smollett, best known for his role on the TV series Empire (which I’d honestly never heard of before watching this), reported that he was the victim of a brutal hate crime in Chicago. According to his account, two men attacked him late at night, shouted racist and homophobic slurs, and even put a noose around his neck. He insisted that his attackers were “100 percent white,” a detail that made the story even more explosive as it spread across national news outlets.
But soon after, the Chicago Police Department accused Smollett of faking the whole thing. Their case hinged on two brothers, Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo, who claimed Smollett had paid them to stage the attack. To make matters even stranger, the Osundairo brothers weren’t just random guys—they had actually worked as extras on Empire, the very show that made Smollett famous. That bizarre overlap, combined with the fact that they are Nigerian-American (not white as Smollett had originally insisted), has always been one of the most puzzling aspects of the case. And honestly, this documentary doesn’t clear it up at all. If anything, it makes the whole situation feel even murkier.
With such dramatic subject matter, you’d expect this ninety-minute documentary to provide clarity or at least a compelling perspective. Unfortunately, it doesn’t. Instead of carefully unpacking the evidence or taking a clear stance, the film just circles around the same questions: was Smollett a victim, or was it all a hoax? It never gives the audience a firm direction, and it doesn’t even present the timeline in a way that makes it easy to follow. At times, it feels like the filmmakers themselves couldn’t decide what story they wanted to tell.
To be honest, I even dozed off during parts of it because the pacing dragged so badly. When I woke up, I didn’t feel like I had missed much which is a terrible sign for a documentary that promises shocking revelations.
That said, I’ll give some credit: the sheer number of interviews is impressive. The filmmakers clearly had access to key figures in the case, and that lends the film a sense of authenticity. The Osundairo brothers in particular are memorable, and not just because of their central role. They come across as unexpectedly funny, especially when they shamelessly plugging their book near the end. At that point, the whole thing feels less like a serious investigation and more like reality-TV comedy.
Still, the central problem remains: this documentary doesn’t tell us anything new. If you followed the headlines in 2019, you already know everything covered here. If you didn’t, like me, you’re left more confused than informed. By the end, you don’t walk away with “the truth” at all just the same unanswered questions.
In short, The Truth About Jussie Smollett overpromises and underdelivers. It wants to be a definitive look at the scandal but ends up as little more than background noise. Unless you’re curious to see the Osundairo brothers crack jokes and promote themselves, you’re better off just reading an article about the case.