Three weeks after actor Jussie Smollett claimed he was the victim of 'racist and homophobic hate crime,' he turned himself into Chicago police on a felony charge of filing a false police report.
Now, CNN anchor Don Lemon is chiming in on the matter, referencing his acquaintanceship with the "Empire" actor.
Lemon told his viewers the story was "personal" and him and Smollett were in constant communication since the alleged attack.
"He even lied to a lot of people...including me. And that's not cool," Lemon said during his opening monologue. "He squandered the good will of very high-profile people who one day may be running this country like Kamala Harris and Cory Booker and people like President Trump."
During his opening monologue, Lemon told his viewers that the story was “personal” since he and Smollett had been acquaintances and were in constant communication since the alleged incident and that Smollett told Lemon what he said had happened to him, which he admitted raised lots of questions.
Lemon stated while Smollett was "innocent until proven guilty," he has already "lost the fight in the court of public opinion."
"He lost because - not his fault. Maybe people were- I don't know what they were saying to him, maybe because of his representatives. Who knows? But it was handled poorly," Lemon told a panel discussion.
It will be interesting to see how those who rallied for the actor and made statements will handle the situation now that Smollett has been caught.
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Photo Credit: CNN