{"id":82960,"date":"2019-03-31T18:25:44","date_gmt":"2019-03-31T22:25:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/lena-waithe-stands-with-jussie-smollett-while-chris-rock-trashes-him-at-naacp-image-awards-watch\/"},"modified":"2019-03-31T18:25:44","modified_gmt":"2019-03-31T22:25:44","slug":"lena-waithe-stands-with-jussie-smollett-while-chris-rock-trashes-him-at-naacp-image-awards-watch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/lena-waithe-stands-with-jussie-smollett-while-chris-rock-trashes-him-at-naacp-image-awards-watch\/","title":{"rendered":"Lena Waithe Stands with Jussie Smollett While Chris Rock Trashes Him at NAACP Image Awards: WATCH"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lena Waithe Stands with Jussie Smollett While Chris Rock Trashes Him at NAACP Image Awards: WATCH<\/b><\/p>\n

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Screenwriter, producer, and actress Lena Waithe stood up for actor Jussie Smollett on the red carpet at the NAACP Image Awards on Saturday night, shortly before comedian Chris Rock slammed him inside.<\/p>\n

Smollett, who was nominated for an award, did not appear at the ceremony. This week 16 felony charges against the actor, for falsifying a hate crime against him in late January, were abruptly<\/a> dropped, prompting outrage from Chicago Police officials and Mayor Rahm Emanuel<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Lena Waithe stands with Jussie Smollett, “being queer and black is like having a target on your back every time you walk out the door” #ImageAwards<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/CUdiKbo34s<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Variety (@Variety) March 31, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

\u201cJussie\u2019s a friend,\u201d said Waithe to Marc Malkin. \u201cI believe him, you know what I mean? I stand with him. He\u2019s my brother. And his family are my family. I feel like he was exonerated. He was cleared of all the charges brought against him. So I think that we as a public gotta stand back and really take a good look at ourselves and remember that being queer and black is like having a target on your back every time you walk out the door. So we need our allies to also stand with us and make sure we\u2019re protected and make sure we\u2019re safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked what she thought about Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson coming out against him, Waithe replied, \u201cPolice ain\u2019t always been protecting and serving brown and queer people. They could do a better job of that. I don\u2019t always believe police. I tend to believe black people first.\u201d<\/p>\n

Inside the auditorium, Chris Rock took a different tone, thrashing the Empire actor.<\/p>\n

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Said Rock: \u201cThey said\u00a0no Jussie Smollett jokes?<\/em> I know! What a waste of light skin. You know what I could do with that light skin? That curly hair? My career would be out of here! F**king running<\/em> Hollywood!\u201d<\/p>\n

Added Rock: \u201cWhat the hell was he thinking? From now on, you\u2019re \u2018Jessie\u2019 from now on. You don\u2019t even get the \u2018U\u2019 no more. That \u2018U\u2019 was respect<\/em>. You don\u2019t get no respect from me.\u201d<\/p>\n

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In related news, Cook County State\u2019s Attorney Kim Foxx defended her handling of the case in an op-ed in the <\/a>Chicago Tribune<\/a><\/em>, and said she was welcome to an outside investigation.<\/p>\n

Foxx said there were two main reasons why the charges were dropped.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were specific aspects of the evidence and testimony presented to the office that would have made securing a conviction against Smollett uncertain,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She added, \u201cAnother key factor is that the crime here was a Class 4 felony, the least serious category, which also covers things like falsely pulling a fire alarm in school and \u2018draft card mutilation.\u2019 These felonies are routinely resolved, particularly in cases involving suspects with no prior criminal record, long before a case ever nears a courtroom and often without either jail time or monetary penalties.\u201d<\/p>\n

She continued: \u201cI was elected on a promise to rethink the justice system, to keep people out of prison who do not pose a danger to the community. I promised to spend my office\u2019s finite resources on the most serious crimes in order to create communities that are both safer and fairer.\u201d<\/p>\n

The post Lena Waithe Stands with Jussie Smollett While Chris Rock Trashes Him at NAACP Image Awards: WATCH<\/a> appeared first on Towleroad Gay News<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n<\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a>\n<\/div>\n

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Lena Waithe Stands with Jussie Smollett While Chris Rock Trashes Him at NAACP Image Awards: WATCH<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n