Jussie Smollett Flashback: Media, celebrities ran with false allegations made by 'Empire' star

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Actor Jussie Smollett was found guilty Thursday on five charges related to staging hate crime against himself and lying to police, a complete 180-degree turn from the days and weeks immediately following the 2019 incident in which various members of the liberal media and celebrity figures jumped to the "Empire" star's defense and even blamed former President Trump and his supporters for creating the political climate leading to the fake attack. 

Here are just a few of the many examples of media personalities and celebrities who jumped to conclusions about Smollett's accusations and appeared to accept them without question.

Among the most egregious was "Good Morning America's" Robin Roberts, who sat down with Smollett for an emotional face-to-face interview but failed to press him on the more outrageous claims within his story. She instead appeared to be sympathize with him and feed into his phony allegations.

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During an appearance on "The Late Show," actor Elliot Page launched a rant against Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence, accusing them of having a direct link to the false attack against Smollett. 

"We have a media that's saying it's a debate whether or not what just happened to Jussie Smollett is a hate crime. It's absurd. This s**t isn't a debate," Page said as liberal host Stephen Colbert agreed. 

Robin Roberts and Jussie Smollett (Getty Images)

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"It feels impossible to not feel this way right now with the president and Vice President Mike Pence, who, like, wishes I couldn't be married," Page, who is transgender, added. "Connect the dots. This is what happens … If you are in a position of power and you hate people, and you want to cause suffering to them … what do you think is going to happen?"

Left-wing MSNBC host Joy Reid capitalized on the racial aspect of Smollett's false claims, declaring that nooses never stopped being used to terrorize people – a reference to the actor's claim that a noose was placed around his neck in the fake attack.

"Nooses never really disappeared as messages of a very specific kind of terror, but every time they’re used, my God, it’s chilling. Praying for Jussie’s full recovery. And for us all," she tweeted.

Former "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett leaves the Leighton Criminal Courts Building as the jury begins deliberation during his trial on December 8, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois.  ( Scott Olson/Getty Images)

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Reid did not address the guilty verdicts against Smollett on her Thursday show.

A number of liberal outlets, including CNN, MSNBC and ABC News, headlined their reporting on Smollett's alleged attack as "brutal," "disturbing," as well as "heinous," and used chyrons that appeared to accept his claims as legitimate. An ABC News chyron stated "'Empire' Star Attacked," and an MSNBC chyron declared, "‘Empire' Star Jussie Smollett attacked in Chicago by men hurling racist and homophobic slurs."

Ali Velshi and Stephanie Ruhle discuss Jussie Smollet's claims that he was attacked by White Trump supporters (Screenshot/MSNBC)

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At the time of the incident, former CNN anchor Brooke Baldwin declared, "This is America in 2019," and called the alleged attack "absolutely despicable," while MSNBC's Stephanie Ruhle described it as "horrible to report" and went along with the allegations, stating, "One of the offenders wrapped a rope around Smollett's neck."

Following Thursday's verdict, none of them addressed their previous acceptance of Smollett's phony claims.