Saturday Night Live skewered Jussie Smollett in a sketch this questioning the actor’s innocence after charges against him were abruptly dropped.
The spoof opened on a meeting where Fox executives argued Smollett should be dropped from TV’s “Empire” to producer Lee Daniels, played by Kenan Thompson, and Smollett’s manager, played by SNL host Sandra Oh.
“Jussie Smollett was a victim!” Oh argues as Chris Redd, who plays the embattled star, bursts in wearing a red Make America Great Again cap.
“Guys… you are not going to believe what just happened to me,” Redd as Smollett says. “I got attacked… again.”
When no one in the room buys his story, the ersatz Smollett, proceeds to pull out a “bag of clues” that includes, Crest Whitestrips, three red letters K, that spell out KKK, car keys and “the gay” purple Teletubby.
“I’m telling the truth, I was attacked!” he insists.
When one of the executives suggests he call the police, Redd as Smollett replies: “No, no. They said I can never call again as part of the deal.”
Prosecutors in Chicago last week dropped all charges against Smollett in a stunning move. The actor, who is gay and black, had been accused of staging a hate attack against himself, in which he claimed two masked men jumped him, shouting racist and homophobic slurs and “This is MAGA country!”
Fox and “Empire” producers stood by Smollett, saying in a statement, “We are gratified that all charges against him have been dismissed.” Still, Smollett, who is black and gay, was written out of the final episodes of the season.
In the sketch, both the faux Daniels and Oh as the manager ultimately fire the fake Smollett. He responds by bursting back into the room, this time in a neck brace, and claiming he was attacked… again.
“I hope he gets the help he needs,” Oh says.
