*On Monday, “The Daily Show’s” Trevor Noah and 24-year-old comedian Jaboukie Young-White dished about the supposed hate crime committed against “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett.
The singer/actor turned himself in to face a charge of making a false police report when he claimed to be the victim of a racially-charged assault last month in Chicago. On Thursday, Smollett was arrested and released on a $100,000 bond and his legal team says they are gearing up to launch an “aggressive defense.”
Meanwhile, Young-White explained on “The Daily Show” why “This story has been weird for me.”
Let him tell it via the clip above.
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“As a gay person, I’m used to speaking on gay issues. As a black person, I’m used to speaking on black issues. But I’m not used to them intercepting,” he tells Noah.
“And I’m also part of a third community that’s been devastated by this: the actor community, Trevor,” he added. “Because of Jussie, everyone will think actors are liars now, because that’s our job, which is true. But on top of that, I look like him.” When Noah protested, he added, “To white people, I do.”
As for why Smollett would orchestrate an attack on himself, Young-White said, “If he wanted to raise awareness for LGBTQ rights, he should have just donated money. If he wanted attention, he should have just leaked his nudes. And if he wanted to hang out with two guys at 2 a.m., Grindr is right there.”
When asked if this will harm “real victims” of hate crimes, the correspondent said, “Not really. Because that would have required people to care about queer people—specifically queer black people, in the first place.”
He then cited the “gay and trans panic defense” and noted: “In 47 states, including New York, someone could beat a gay person like me to death and then go, ‘Well, I don’t know, he wanted to suck my dick.’ And you know what, maybe I did. But that’s still not a good reason. I mean, imagine if women could use that defense, there would be no men left. None!”
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