Suspect in Jussie Smollett Attack Took a Photo with Lee Daniels on 'Empire' Set
By TheBlast Staff on February 15, 2019 at 3:15 AM EST
UPDATE
10:30 AM PT — Both Abel and Ola have been placed under arrest, but have not yet been charged with a crime.
One of the two men currently being detained for questioning in the alleged attack of Jussie Smollett was not only an extra on "Empire," he snapped a photo with the co-creator himself.
Olabinjo Osundairo and Abimbola Osundairo are the two brothers from Nigeria, currently in custody with the Chicago Police Department. Nicknamed Ola and Abel, the two brothers have also retained an attorney who has said she does not know what her clients could possibly be charged with.
Gloria Schmidt has revealed that the two brothers know Smollett from work on "Empire," and worked out with him at their gym, but deny any involvement in the alleged attack on the actor.
Ola also dabbles as a rapper, and has released music on his Sound Cloud page under the name King Ola with tracks like, "Gang Bang."
According to the Chicago PD, the two men are being viewed "as potential suspects. Detectives have probable cause that they may have been involved in an alleged crime and we are working to corroborate the allegations and investigative timeline as our investigation continues."
Smollett does indeed appear to know them and even follows Abel on Instagram. Ola also posted a photo of himself and Lee Daniels from 2015 when the jacked actor appeared on the FOX show.
Abel has also appeared on TV, including a small part on "Chicago P.D."
!instagram-embed(https://www.instagram.com/p/BkniwBlAoJ-/)
Chicago reporter Charlie De Mar obtained the results of a search warrant executed at the apartment of the two brothers, and among the things listed include bleach and a red hat. As we reported, Jussie claims the attackers threw bleach on him while shouting homophobic and racist slurs.
Also recovered during the search was a copy of a script from "Empire." Ola and Abel have not yet been charged with a crime, and although reports have surfaced that Smollett may have been involved with staging the attack, cops doubled down Friday morning that there is no evidence to suggest the incident was a hoax.
