Jussie Smollett May Have A ‘Character Problem’ Not A Mental Health Issue, Says Dr. Drew
Dr. Drew Pinsky, famed celebrity doctor and addiction specialist, has said that people should probably rule out a mental health issue or drug problem when they’re trying to figure out why Jussie Smollett allegedly faked a hate crime. Pinsky told TMZ that there are a couple of hints that mental health conditions and addiction aren’t a part of this case.
“There are some tells in what’s not happening here, he’s not been admitted to a psychiatric hospital, and he’s not been admitted to a rehab,” said the doctor who’s likely best known for his role on Celebrity Rehab. “Usually that’s the defense lawyer’s first move if there’s really something going on. That mean’s he doesn’t meet the criteria for that sort of thing.”
As Pinsky notes, that leaves huge questions about possible reasons why Smollett could have justified orchestrating such an elaborate hoax. He concludes that it boils down to the actor’s character.
“I think it made sense to him at the time. You have to be willing to take great risk, to harm people, and to want to manipulate people, and that’s a certain kind of person,” he said before stressing that the Empire actor’s defense team is still building their case which will tell his side of the story.
BREAKING: Jussie Smollett's character has been removed from the last two "Empire" episodes of the season to "avoid further disruption on set," producers say https://t.co/d2awa0dk9H pic.twitter.com/ZIuFoTBtoW
— CBS News (@CBSNews) February 22, 2019
As The Blast reports, according to the documents filed for the actor’s bond hearing, prosecutors believe that he used to purchase MDMA, the drug more commonly known as Molly, from one of the brothers he hired to stage the attack. He allegedly became friends with Abel Osundairo after he appeared as an extra on Empire. Smollett reportedly asked Osundairo to obtain the drug for him on several occasions as of early last year.
After the hearing, Smollet’s bail was set at $100,000 and he was forced to give up his passport.
The actor has been charged with disorderly conduct and filing a false police report. On February 21, he surrendered himself to police.
At a subsequent press conference, Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson claimed that Smollett planned the stunt so that he could translate the publicity into a salary increase. Johnson said that the threatening letter he received on the Empire set was Jussie’s first attempt at setting a hoax in motion. But when that didn’t attract the level of attention he wanted, he allegedly decided to stage the attack.
When Jussie first came forward with the story, he received a huge show of support from members of the cast and crew of Empire. But with these new charges against him, things have changed. As The Inquisitr reported, his character, Jamal Lyon, has been cut from the final two episodes of this season of the show.
