A slew of reporters, analysts, and others who work in the media industry have quietly deleted tweets that expressed outrage over the alleged attack against Jussie Smollett, with few addressing recent updates in the story.
Smollett, a black actor, initially claimed that two white men attacked him while hurling slurs before saying “this is MAGA country,” referring to President Donald Trump’s slogan “Make America Great Again.”
But Chicago police detectives have found little evidence supporting his story and instead arrested two Nigerian brothers who reportedly told them that Smollett paid them to stage the alleged attack.
Kevin Fallon, a reporter for the Daily Beast, initially posted two missives on Twitter criticizing Trump supporters.
“People in MAGA hats recognized and then beat and poured bleach on Jussie Smollett, calling him that [expletive] from Empire,” Fallon said in one tweet. “Anyone who thinks supporting You Know Who isn’t tantamount to providing artillery for weaponized bigotry needs to take a hard look in the mirror.”
In another tweet, Fallon added: “Update after learning more: they wore ski masks, so as to [sic] cowardly not be recognized as they shouted ‘this is MAGA country’ and toed [sic] a rope around his neck like a noose.”
Fallon left his tweets up for weeks after the Jan. 29 attack before finally deleting them late Feb. 18. He issued a new post, saying: “I deleted previous inaccurate tweets as more reports about Jussie Smollett come out.”
“What a despicable act if updates are true: exploiting & amplifying the hate, division, & politicization; abusing media & police resources; and making it all the harder for victims to report,” he added. Fallon did not apologize for smearing Trump and Trump supporters.
I deleted previous inaccurate tweets as more reports about Jussie Smollett come out. What a despicable act if updates are true: exploiting & amplifying the hate, division, & politicization; abusing media & police resources; and making it all the harder for victims to report.
— Kevin Fallon (@kpfallon) February 19, 2019
Requests sent to Daily Beast editor-in-chief Noah Shachtman, Fallon, and the Daily Beast’s parent company IAC by The Wrap were not answered.
A number of other media industry employees posted personal opinions in the wake of the alleged attack that they’ve deleted or tried to justify since new information came to light pointing to the attack being a hoax.
Zachary Kussin, a New York Post reporter called the alleged attack “unbelievably disturbing.”
“I also hate when cops investigate this kind of blatant [expletive] as a ‘possible hate crime,'” he added. “This is obviously a hate crime.”
If the issue is one in which we read an account — which, yes, is now under a big microscope — describing an African-American man who’s beaten, has a rope tied around him and is splashed with bleach, then I think the words hate and crime would immediately come to anyone’s mind
— Zachary Kussin (@zacharykussin) February 18, 2019
Kussin deleted his tweets and has not issued a retraction or an apology. Responding to heavy criticism about injecting his opinion into the story, he noted that he had posted links to stories about updates in the case and added: “The number of trolls using me as a scapegoat for a story that I did not cover is frankly astonishing.”
Buzzfeed writer Ryan Schocket wrote after the alleged attack: “These are the people our president is emboldening. This is what that red hat stands for.”
He deleted the tweet and did not issue an update.
Broderick Greer, a writer for Teen Vogue and the Washington Post, wrote after the alleged attack that “The MAGA element is unsurprising. Red Hat Wearers are a threat to black LGBTQ people all over the country.”
He did not delete his tweets and has not issued an apology or a retraction.
This is heartbreaking — ‘Empire’ Star Jussie Smollett Beaten in Homophobic Attack By MAGA Supporters https://t.co/ruP5fwD5Qz via @TMZ
— gina (@jeanuh_) January 29, 2019
Gina Cherelus, a reporter for Reuters, a wire agency, called the alleged attack “heartbreaking.” Her tweet remains up on her page and she has not issued an update.
Karen Attiah, an editor for The Washington Post, said, “The heinous attack on Jussie Smollett [is] yet another reminder that Trump’s ascendance and the resulting climate of hate has meant that lives have been increasingly at stake since 2015.” She added, “Smollett could have been killed by those thugs screaming MAGA. Let that sink in.”
Attiah did not delete her tweet and declined to apologize. “It would do everyone well to wait for the full facts of the case on all sides to officially come out,” she wrote in an update.
The rabid animals in MAGA hats who attacked Jussie Smollett need to be hunted down aggressively, w/o mercy, & assuming on-sight that they’re armed & an imminent threat. Drag the scum in chains to the smallest darkest hole, and throw them down it forever.
— Mark Hughes (@markhughesfilms) January 29, 2019
Ernest Owens, a writer for Philadelphia Magazine, wrote that the alleged attack on Smollett showed “how far we haven’t come in 2019.”
“Hoping for justice and vengeance for Jussie Smollett,” he added.
Reacting to updates in the story, he appeared on CNN and said that he felt “bamboozled, hoodwinked, and betrayed” by Smollett. He added on Twitter, “Nowadays the lines get blurred between activist, writer, and journalist. Those are three separate things that can compliment—but call for different frames of operation. You can advocate and trust—but also be [expletive] sure to verify.”
I’m not going to right now rip apart each Jussie Smollett detail, but let’s keep it real — the moment it was revealed that he knew both of those Nigerian brothers and they got immediately released after being identified — that just didn’t make sense.
— Ernest Owens (@MrErnestOwens) February 19, 2019
Xeni Jardin, a writer for the Boing Boing blog, wrote after Smollett claimed he was attacked, “Donald Trump owns this. Donald Trump’s supporters own this.” She later deleted her tweet and has not issued an apology or retraction.
Mark Hughes, a contributor to Forbes, Huffington Post, and Slate, wrote on Jan. 29: “The rabid animals in MAGA hats who attacked Jussie Smollett need to be hunted down aggressively, w/o mercy, & assuming on-sight that they’re armed & an imminent threat. Drag the scum in chains to the smallest darkest hole, and throw them down it forever.”
Hughes declined to apologize and did not delete the tweet.