You may not be aware that two years ago Kamala Harris put her foot in her mouth when she expressed sympathy and support for actor Jussie Smollett after he lied about being attacked in a hate crime he staged in a misguided attempt to gain notoriety.
Of course, she had no idea at the time that Smollett was a dirty liar but that still doesn’t make her comments any less cringy.
.@JussieSmollett is one of the kindest, most gentle human beings I know. I’m praying for his quick recovery.
This was an attempted modern day lynching. No one should have to fear for their life because of their sexuality or color of their skin. We must confront this hate.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) January 29, 2019
“.@JussieSmollett is one of the kindest, most gentle human beings I know. I’m praying for his quick recovery,” Harris tweeted at the time. “This was an attempted modern day lynching. No one should have to fear for their life because of their sexuality or color of their skin. We must confront this hate.”
Chicago police began investigating a hate crime after Smollett said he had been attacked by two masked men at 2 a.m. The actor charged the attackers with hurling racist and homophobic slurs, dousing him in an “unknown” chemical, looping a noose around his neck, and invoking the Trump campaign slogan, “MAGA country.”
His story quickly fell apart before police announced weeks later that he had paid two friends to help stage the incident because he was displeased with his TV show salary. Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie T. Johnson said in late February 2019 that Smollett “took advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career.”
When the truth came out Harris quickly backpedaled.
Like most of you, I've seen the reports about Jussie Smollett, and I'm sad, frustrated, and disappointed. pic.twitter.com/91OHOymShi
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) February 21, 2019
“When anyone makes false claims to police, it not only diverts resources away from serious investigations but it makes it more difficult for other victims of crime to come forwards,” Harris said on February 21, 2019. “At the same time, we must speak the truth: hate crimes are on the rise in America.”
To this day Smollett maintains his innocence despite facing six counts of disorderly conduct for allegedly filing a false police report.
