The title of the Netflix documentary The Truth About Jussie Smollett? , out on Netflix Aug. 22, ends on a question mark for a reason: Director Gagan Rehill wants to leave it up to viewers to decide whether the Black and gay Empire actor Jussie Smollett was the victim of a hate crime or the perpetrator of his own hate crime.

Smollett maintains that on Jan. 29, 2019, he was out in the middle of the night near his apartment in downtown Chicago, and en route home from Subway sandwich shop, when a white man started shouting “ Empire faggot n*****” and “this is MAGA country!” He claims two men in balaklavas poured bleach on him and put a noose around his neck—a noose that he was still wearing when police arrived at his apartment.

The story went viral, sparking sympathy from political l

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