Sources are saying that two brothers who were interrogated by police investigating the alleged attack on Jussie Smollett in Chicago told authorities that the "Empire" actor allegedly paid them to help him orchestrate and stage the crime.
Detectives are trying to corroborate the account of Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo, but thus far police have not independently verified the allegations. Sources say the Osundairo brothers agreed to cooperate with authorities after detectives confronted them with evidence that they bought the rope -- allegedly used in an attack that Smollett described to police as laced with racial and homophobic slurs -- at a Chicago hardware store,
No one has been charged in connection with the case. Detectives have now shifted the investigation towards determining whether Smollett made up the entire story, sources said.
The latest development in the investigation came after Smollett has vehemently denied the suggestion that the incident was a hoax, and expressed disbelief that the brothers could have been involved.
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