Dear Gossips,

Jussie Smollett turned himself into the police this morning in Chicago. He reportedly made a statement to police and was taken into custody. The police are expected to hold a press conference at some point today which is when they’ll likely lay out all their evidence. Jussie’s attorneys released a statement last night:

"Like any other citizen, Mr. Smollett enjoys the presumption of innocence, particularly when there has been an investigation like this one where information, both true and false, has been repeatedly leaked. Given these circumstances, we intend to conduct a thorough investigation and to mount an aggressive defense."

At this point, I don’t think anyone can imagine what that defence might be. TMZ is saying that the two brothers who were involved in the alleged hoax, Ola and Abel Osundairo, have apparently revealed to the grand jury that they were paid to stage the attack. When I said a couple of weeks ago that scammers are having a moment, I was not anticipating that Jussie Smollett would be included on that list. But that’s what 2019 looks like so far – the Year of the Scam. 

We will have more thoughtful and detailed analysis on the Jussie Smollett situation in the days to come. I’m currently in LA on a junket and prepping all the work that’s coming this weekend and I don’t want to rush out a post from any of our writers on something so complicated and so disappointing. 

Until then, we have other stories we’re working on – like the Oscars and, of course, Meghan Markle, who took over New York for five days and, as I’m sure you’ve heard, gained a major ally, like the supreme Queen of an entirely different realm. 

Yours in gossip,

Lainey