In an upcoming interview, the Osundairo brothers, who were paid by Empire actor Jussie Smollett to stage an attack on him, have broken their silence about the incident.

Smollett had paid the brothers $3,500 to carry out the fake attack in January 2019, in an attempt to gain public sympathy by framing it as a hate crime. The truth came to light after the brothers, who are aspiring actors from Nigeria, admitted the whole ordeal was a hoax after being detained in a Chicago lockup for almost two days.

The interview is set to air shortly after Smollett appealed a guilty verdict handed down in 2021.

In a recent interview set to air shortly after Jussie Smollett appealed a guilty verdict, the Osundairo brothers – paid by the Empire actor to stage an attack on him – have finally broken their silence.

The brothers, who accepted the strange offer from Smollett with the expectation that he would help their careers, revealed that they met with Smollett an hour before carrying out the staged attack.

After their nearly two-day stint in a Chicago lockup, the brothers confessed to the mugging being a hoax, while Smollett repeatedly lied and tried to maintain his innocence. The brothers expressed their dismay at Smollett’s behavior, stating that it showed a different side of him and that they felt betrayed when he attempted to pin the blame on them during subsequent court hearings.

They referred to Smollett as a “crazy fraudster” and accused him of refusing to speak the truth to this day, demonstrating his villainous nature.

‘This guy is really just sitting her, lying to these people. Lying through his teeth, and not caring,’ he said, referencing how Smollett ‘even shed a tear’ during a now widely seen interview with ABC News in which he denied the attack was a hoax.

Calling the actor ‘crazy’ for his continued devotion to the ruse, Amibola admitted that he feels betrayed by Smollett for not embracing his guilt, and taking the fall as he and his brother were forced to do 

‘I did feel betrayed by Jussie and what he had done. I didn’t know what to do – I wasn’t ready to say anything. Like, I was mute. And I didn’t want to say anything.’

In a revealing interview set to air after Empire actor Jussie Smollett appealed his 2021 guilty verdict, the brothers paid by him to stage a fake attack have broken their silence.

Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo were paid $3,500 by Smollett to stage the attack in Chicago in January 2019, which he hoped would garner public sympathy. The brothers confessed to the hoax after almost two days in a Chicago lockup. They explained that they accepted Smollett’s strange proposal because they believed it would help their acting careers.

The pair expressed their disappointment in Smollett’s continued lies and attempts to appear innocent. Smollett was convicted in December 2021, thanks in part to the in-depth testimonies of the Osundairo brothers. Although Smollett has denied the charges and served six days in jail, his sentence was put on hold after he appealed his conviction.

The brothers revealed in the interview that they wondered whether their performance was believable enough for Smollett. The five-part series also includes interviews with Chicago detectives who suspected that Smollett’s hate crime claims were false after just three days of investigation.

Over 55 sources of video evidence would confirm the truth of the incident, exposing the brothers as the true perpetrators. When Smollett’s conflicting accounts came to light, the police knew that the attack was fabricated. Their next challenge was to get the truth out of the Osundairo brothers themselves.

Initially, the cops faced a hurdle as the brothers were out of the country. However, after a few weeks, the brothers flew back to the United States. Olabinjo explains that he was merely returning to continue his life, work out, attend auditions, and get his $500 check.

On the other hand, Ambiola had a premonition that the law enforcement officials were hot on their trail. He felt that they were releasing bits of evidence to lure them back to the country.

Eventually, their intuition proved to be accurate. Upon landing in the US, Ambiola and Olabinjo were pulled aside by a customs agent who checked their passports. Ambiola recounts that as he got off the plane, the customs agent inspected everyone’s passports, and when he came to Ambiola, he was flagged. The officer was joined by two big police officers, and Ambiola felt that his time was up.

The two brothers, who were detained in a Cook County detention cell for 47 hours, eventually confessed to their involvement in Smollett’s bizarre scheme after being interrogated by the police. The brothers claimed that Smollett, who had become their fast friend through a mutual acquaintance, had concocted the plan with the intention of being seen as a hero by both the LGBTQ and black communities.

When asked about Smollett’s motive, Ambiola stated that he was not explicitly told, but inferred that the actor wanted to increase his star power and become a poster child for activism. The brothers then elaborated on their relationship with Smollett, how they had met through a mutual friend, and how they had exchanged favors with one another.

Amibola reminisced about a time when he believed an assessment to be accurate, recounting how he and two others would often visit bars while Smollett filmed in Chicago. The actor-director even aided them in obtaining roles in the popular drama series. Amibola also mentioned how Smollett and his brother would frequently smoke marijuana, and he was often tasked with acquiring it for the actor to maintain a low profile. According to Amibola, Smollett appeared genuine and authentic, and they would often hang out at nightclubs or bars. Amibola even visited Smollett’s home and watched television while the others smoked, despite not being a smoker himself.

In response to claims made by Smollett’s attorneys about a sexual relationship between Amibola and the actor, including alleged mutual masturbation in bathhouses, Amibola jokingly remarked about only frequenting nightclubs and bathhouses.

Amibola went on to discuss the dynamics of their friendship and the benefits he received after becoming part of Smollett’s inner circle. Being friends with a lead actor on Empire helped Amibola’s career, as Smollett helped him secure a stand-in role on the show and even gave him certain positions as a feature background artist when directing. On set, Smollett was approachable and friendly, according to Amibola.

When questioned about whether he or his brothers had done any favors for Smollett in the past, Amibola revealed that the actor would sometimes ask him to procure weed and paraphernalia. Smollett preferred to keep a low profile and didn’t want to acquire the drugs himself. Amibola emphasized that their relationship was genuine, and he didn’t want to jeopardize it with selfish requests for personal gain.

He explained that he never considered what Smollett could do for him and didn’t want to take that approach, knowing it would negatively impact their friendship. Olabinjo, on the other hand, admitted that he was willing to participate in the staged crime, hoping that it would lead to better career opportunities. He didn’t anticipate it would cause any significant problems, and his motivation was driven by ambition.

In contrast, Olabinjo’s brother felt indebted to Smollett, who treated them to nights out and helped him get acting gigs on a high-profile show. He agreed to help Smollett with the staged crime because of the sentiment he felt toward him.

“When Smollett first approached me about the scam, I was in the car with him, and I didn’t know how to react,” Amibola recounted. “I was flustered and unsure if agreeing to it was the right thing to do. I couldn’t think straight and wondered about the consequences of taking part in it.”

He continued, “But Jussie was my friend, and he had helped me out a lot, so I felt indebted to him. After a few days, we agreed to participate in the plan, as long as we were paid $3,500 altogether.”

As the police and others began to question the authenticity of Smollett’s account of the incident, the brothers were surprised by the actor’s unwavering commitment to the story.

Amibola remarked, “Jussie put on a crazy act, giving emotional speeches to the public about the attack, even saying things like ‘I wouldn’t be my mother’s son if I did what you guys said I did.’ It was unbelievable.”

The brothers laughed at the irony of Smollett’s statement but then grew serious as they offered their opinion of his character.

“This guy is a pathological liar,” Amibola exclaimed. “To say something like that and to even bring your mother into something like that without showing any remorse is crazy. I can’t believe someone I once thought of favorably could tell such a bold-faced lie.”