Jussie Smollett Case Sees Another Legal Wrinkle

Because the Jussie Smollett case needed one more legal twist: The brothers implicated in the alleged assault have filed a federal lawsuit against the actor's legal team, reports NBC Chicago. Olabinjio and Abmibola Osundairo accused attorneys Mark Geragos, Tina Glandian, and Geragos' law firm of defamation by repeatedly asserting that the brothers "led a criminally homophobic, racist and violent attack against" against the Empire star. The brothers, of course, say Smollett paid them to stage the attack. They say the slams from the actor's legal team worsened after prosecutors dropped all charges against Smollett, who had been accused of filing a false police report.

“The Chicagoan brothers told the truth,” said Gloria Schmidt, one of their attorneys, per the Chicago Tribune. “They could have remained silent. But instead they told the truth to the police, and with their right hand in the air, they told the truth to the grand jury." The continued verbal attacks against the brothers have made them unsafe in their own community and hurt their careers, says Schmidt. She read a statement from the brothers, which said in part, “These lies are destroying our character and our reputation in our personal and professional lives." (Smollett faces a lawsuit of his own.)