*Gizelle Bryant is facing backlash for using a gay slur while speaking about the Jussie Smollett hate crime hoax.
“The Real Housewives of Potomac” star dropped the f-word during Monday’s episode of their “Reasonably Shady” podcast, Page Six reports.
Bryant and co-host Robyn Dixon were unpacking the Fox Nation documentary about the Smollet case.
“What he did was, in case you guys don’t remember, he staged a hate crime,” Bryant explained. “So they were supposed to put a noose around his neck, they were supposed to call him ‘f—got’ or something … gay empire boy or something.”
Dixon was noticeably surprised by Bryant using the word “fa–ot.”
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“They were supposed to scream that,” Bryant tried to clarify after noticing Dixon’s reaction, according to Page Six. “These were the words that Jussie gave the trainers to do.”
Several fans defended the use of the slur because that’s what Smollet claimed his attackers called him, others are outraged because Bryant so casually dropped the f-bomb.
Meanwhile, the five-part documentary series “Jussie Smollett: Anatomy of a Hoax” features interviews with Nigerian brothers Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo who claim they helped Smollett stage a homophobic and racist hate crime against himself in Chicago in 2019.
Smollett claims he was attacked by two MAGA-loving Trump supporters who doused him with bleach and tied a noose around his neck. An investigation concluded that the actor lied about the incident and staged the assault on himself with the help of the Osundairo brothers.
Smollett was ultimately charged with 16 felony counts of disorderly conduct for making a false report. The charges were later dropped by Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx. After a special prosecutor was brought in, Smollett was re-charged. In December 2021, a jury found him guilty on five of six counts of felony disorderly conduct. He served only 150 days in jail before being released.
Smollett’s legal team is now appealing his conviction as the “Empire” actor continues to maintain his innocence.
