‘The Real’ Co-Host Amanda Seales Defends Jussie Smollett: Even If Attack Was a ‘Hoax,’ It Was ‘Noble’ Thing to Do (Video)
“No one was hurt in this situation,” Seales says
Margeaux Sippell | February 12, 2020 @ 1:09 PM
Last Updated: February 12, 2020 @ 1:36 PM
“The Real” co-host Amanda Seales has leapt to the defense of fellow actor Jussie Smollett after his indictment on Tuesday by a Chicago special prosecutor over the police reports he filed in January 2019 for what he said was a hate-crime attack.
“Even if it was a hoax for the sake of bringing attention to this, then I’m like, that’s low-key noble,” the actress and new co-host of the daytime talk show “The Real” said on Wednesday’s episode following Smollett’s indictment on six counts of disorderly conduct.
“Like, I’m just at my wits end about us centering situations like this and wanting to make people have to pay,” Seales said of Smollett’s now-famous claim that he was the victim of a hate-crime in January 2019, for which he was later accused of filing a false police report. (Smollett’s attorney Tina Glandian vowed to fight the new charges, which she called “clearly all about politics not justice.”)
“Like, Emmett Till’s accuser was alive — I think she’s still alive,” Seales continued, referencing the young black boy who was lynched in 1955 after being falsely accused of offending a white woman at her family’s grocery store.
“This young man died, and she announced that she was lying about it — they should have put the shackles on her that day! And she’s walking around!”
Seales went on to stress the low-stakes of Smollett’s alleged crime. “So, no one was hurt in this situation, nobody — you know what they’re mad about? Their time. Their resources being used,” she said. “Taxpayers resources are being used every day to imprison people who have done nothing but be an addict. So I don’t want to hear about Jussie Smollett.”
But fellow co-host Adrienne Houghton wasn’t so quick to exonerate the former “Empire” star. “OK, but what do we do about people that feel that, ‘Well, what if a hate crime really happens to me, and now because of what Jussie Smollett did, now they don’t believe me,”’ Houghton asked.
“If this one instance is what makes them not believe you, baby, that’s a lie that they’re telling ourselves. We have lived in a nation where they don’t believe hate crimes every day. Every single day,” Seales replied.
“They got a smack on the wrist for all these people and they can’t give a smack on the wrist for Jussie Smollett? Like, because they’re saying it’s a whole big thing? I’m just — I don’t believe it. We look at black men who are constantly getting the book thrown at them all the time.”
Watch the video above.
11 Most Shocking 'Survivor' Moments From the First 40 Seasons of Reality Hit (Photos)
In honor of the upcoming 40th season of the beloved reality series, which premiered in 2000, here are some of the most shocking moments of the last 20 years of "Survivor" -- from full-frontal nudity on national television to Dan Spilo getting kicked off the show last season. Season 40 premieres Feb. 12 at 8/7c on CBS.
CBS
Dan Spilo Gets Kicked Off the Show
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Courtesy of Robert Voets/CBS Entertainment
Season 1 Winner Richard Hatch Jailed for Tax Evasion
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Sandra Diaz-Twine Wins Two Seasons
This champion is the first and only person ever to win two separate seasons -- "Survivor: Pearl Islands" and "Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains."
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"Boston Rob" Plays a Sneaky Trick
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Erik Cardona's Jury Speech
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Colby Donaldson Steels Coral From the Great Barrier Reef
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Michael Skupin Gets Third-Degree Burns
This man inhaled a mouthful of smoke while competing on "Survivor: Australian Outback" and passed out, landing directly in a fire pit and sustaining third-degree burns. He was later arrested for possession of child pornography in 2016. He served jail time.
CBS
Candice Woodcock and Adam Gentry Make Out
After Woodcock got eliminated, she made out with fellow contestant Gentry in front of everyone. That's when Probst quipped, “Well, a kiss is nice. Maybe if it were love he would have given you the Immunity necklace.” Sick burn, Jeff.
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Tribes Are Divided By Race
Not "Survivor's" finest hour. In 2006 for the Cook Islands season, they actually decided to divide the tribes by race -- African American, Asian American, Hispanic American, and Caucasian. When the public was not amused, Probst chalked it to a well-intentioned but mislead attempt at diversity.
CBS
Full-Frontal Male Nudity!
On Season 17, audiences were flashed a full-frontal shot of Marcus Lehman's private parts for a brief moment on national television. Whoops!
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The 'Most Frightened' Probst Has Ever Felt on 'Survivor'
In what host Jeff Probst says was "the most frightened I've been in all my time" on "Survivor," contestant Russell Swan passed out with his eyes open due to sheer physical exhaustion and is forced to go home, despite desperately trying to make it through the Samoa-set season.
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From full-frontal nudity to the first contestant ever kicked off the show
In honor of the upcoming 40th season of the beloved reality series, which premiered in 2000, here are some of the most shocking moments of the last 20 years of "Survivor" -- from full-frontal nudity on national television to Dan Spilo getting kicked off the show last season. Season 40 premieres Feb. 12 at 8/7c on CBS.