F ew had it made at the beginning of 2019 quite like Jussie Smollett , an actor and singer who successfully navigated child stardom on the way to becoming a fixture on the hit TV series Empire . That was until late January of that same year, when news broke that Smollett had been attacked outside his downtown Chicago apartment in a possible hate crime. (Smollett is Black and gay.) The breakout details that Smollett shared early on – specifically, that he had been jumped by two Maga foot soldiers who doused him in bleach before placing a noose around his neck – both galvanized public supporters and made them cynical. (Really? They shouted: “ This is Maga country ?” In Streeterville ?) What’s more, the police didn’t do themselves many favors by registering their skepticism ear

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