Washington: President Donald Trump lashed out at actor Jussie Smollett at a rally on Saturday, calling him a “third-rate actor.”
As reported by Variety, Trump in his rally said, “It’s a MAGA country. I didn’t hear that term until that third rate actor in Chicago went out and said I was beaten up by MAGA country, can you believe it?”
“Turned out to be a total lie,” he added.
The ‘Empire’ actor in January claimed that he was attacked by two masked men who yelled racial slurs against him as he was gay and black. He also claimed that the attackers shouted, “This is MAGA country.”
After the investigations, Smollett was indicted on 16 felony counts by the city of Chicago. However, the charges were dropped as he forfeited USD 10,000 and agreed to do some community service.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson criticised the dropping of charges.
Later, Jussie was sued by the city of Chicago for USD 130,000 in order to recover the costs incurred during his investigations.
[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]