As Jussie Smollett is back in the headlines over the alleged attack that many investigators claim that he staged, the brothers involved with the assault are often mentioned in passing. Not much has been said about the post-scandal lives of Abel and Ola Osundairo, but on Wednesday (February 12), their lawyer opened up about the brothers falling on hard times.
According to Chicago defense attorney Gloria Schmidt, the Osundairo siblings are unable to find work because of their association with the case. Abel and Ola have reportedly been accessing food pantries in order to get by since they were allegedly hired by Smollett to attack him on the streets of Chicago.
“It’s been really hard for them, they’ve tried to kind of jump back into the life they had [and] they couldn’t,” Chicago defense attorney Gloria Schmidt told The Post. “They were getting 4 to 5 auditions a month before, that’s completely dried up. Their talent agent dropped them… they’re eating at the food pantry. It’s not going well for them.”
Smollett was recently indicted on six charges of disorderly conduct in connection to the alleged hoax and he also faces a lawsuit from the City of Chicago. It’s reported that the Osundairo brothers will testify against Smollett and Schmidt says they hope to be vindicated. “This is the end of the beginning for them, they know there’s a long road ahead and there’s a lot of things that need to happen before a jury or judge finds they’re truthful,” Schmidt explained. “They have no real skin in the game, they just know their role is to be honest and tell the truth about what happened.”
“Whatever shape that takes, whether it’s him fessing up, I think calling him a liar is not in their code, they wouldn’t want to make such a bold statement they just know he’s not being in accord with the facts,” Schmidt said. “They know what happened, they know what he did, he’s making it up to be something that’s not accurate.” Smollett is due back in court on February 24.
