On Tuesday, late-night hosts tried their best to make sense of the most confusing case of the year. In a shocking reversal Tuesday afternoon, Chicago prosecutors dropped all charges against Jussie Smollett, following the accusation that the actor had filed a false police report in January after staging a hate crime against himself. Then, soon after the news broke, prosecutors released a statement stressing the fact that they “did not exonerate” the actor—only adding to the confusion.
On The Daily Show, Trevor Noah summed up the response to this cluster pretty succinctly: “O.K., wait. So Jussie was set free. But hes not innocent. But hes also not guilty. What?! We need someone to figure this out. Mueller, weve got a new case for you—and this time, just tell us what happened!”
That said, the comedian did find one aspect of the case amusing—the furious response to the decision from the Chicago police. “Ill be honest with you,” Noah said. “I think its pretty hilarious to see Chicago cops on the other side of a case gone wrong for once. Theyre like, If only he had a body cam! All black people should have body cams!”
“So thats where we are right now,” Noah concluded. “The weirdest news story in America. I feel like in a week were gonna turn on CNN and find out Smollett is now dating Mike Pence after they met at an R. Kelly concert.”
Equally baffled? Stephen Colbert, who also likened the case to Muellers nonconclusion in the Russian collusion probe, quipping, “Man, Bill Barr has been busy.”
“For those of you who have not been following the story, let me catch you up,” Colbert continued before giving a dramatic shrug. “I dunno. I dont know whats going on; it doesnt make any sense.” The comedian added that Smollett has maintained that the attack against him was a hate crime, “and I believe it—because I hate talking about this story.”
As for the angry police, Colbert offered them some cold comfort: “Isnt it a hopeful sign for America that regardless of your race or sexual orientation, all rich, famous people get off easily?” He then dropped a, shall we say, questionable quote from Martin Luther King Jr.: “I have a dream that one day, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will hire the very best publicists to leverage their social-media profile, escape charges, then make a big comeback on The Masked Singer!” Amen?
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