Too bad we can’t watch the trial of Jussie Smollett in Chicago. Wednesday’s testimony would’ve been riveting to watch, as a key witness testified that Smollett tried to direct his hoax hate crime.

Turns out that not only is Smollett now a failed actor, but he’s a lousy director, too.

The key witness was Abimbola Osundairo, one of two brothers who helped Smollett pull off his hoax. But let’s back up first, shall we?

As you recall, in the wee hour of 2 am on January 29, 2019, Jussie Smollett, an actor on the series “Empire,” braved the bitter cold of Chicago to walk to a Subway sandwich shop to get a tuna sandwich. As one does, of course.

Tenor.com.

That story smelled fishy enough, considering that the Windy City was going through a deep cold snap at the time, with temperatures below zero. But Smollett claimed he encountered two men — also out in sub-zero weather — who shouted gay slurs and yelled “This is MAGA country!” (uh-huh, in Chicago). They then assaulted him, poured bleach on him, and tied a noose around his neck. Which they just happened to be carrying at the time.

Jussie Smollett earned the sympathies of all the Bigs on the Left, including then-senator Kamala Harris, who declared that this was an “attempted modern day lynching.” Except that the story quickly fell apart, and now Smollett is on trial in Chicago for making false reports to police, a felony.

Smollett’s defense attorneys have been arguing that he was set up by Abimbola “Abel” Osundairo and his brother Olabinjo. The brothers didn’t like Smollett, they claimed. On top of that, they said, the brothers are homophobes.

But then Abel Osundairo took the stand on Wednesday, and provided details that derailed the set-up tale.

Jussie Smollett, he said, had asked him and his brother to “fake” beat him up. Why? Because Smollett told them that he’d received threatening hate mail, but the studio wasn’t taking it seriously. So he wanted to send them a message.

Osundairo testified:

“I looked puzzled, and then he explained that he wanted me to fake beat him up. He told me that we would need another person to fake beat him up and he mentioned could my brother do it? I said yes.”

And, because Jussie Smollett had gotten Abel Osundairo a stand-in role on “Empire,” he felt he owed the actor a favor. Besides, he reasoned, Smollett could help him with his acting career.

So not only did Smollett engage the two brothers in faking an assault on him, but he even directed it. He also set up a “dry run” two days before the assault to work out the final details. Because he’s a actor and he knows how to play director, too.

Abel Osundairo testified that during the dress rehearsal the three men drove to the spot where the “assault” would take place. Smollett had chosen that place because there was a police camera there.

Charlie De Mar, a Chicago reporter who is covering the trial, tweeted:

“I believe he said there was going to be a camera to capture the fake attack—that he wanted a camera to capture the fake attack. He wanted to use the fake attack footage for media, he testified.”

Except the camera was pointed up the street, not at Smollett’s chosen site. Oops. That’s a major directing fail.

De Mar also reported that they discussed who would do the actual beating:

“There was discussion as to who was going to do the punching. Smollett wanted Abel to do because he didn’t trust Ola to “pull” his punches.”

De Mar also interviewed Abel Osundairo before he entered court on Wednesday.

And as for the defense claims that the Osundairo brothers despised Jussie Smollett? Abel Osundairo kicked those under the bus with his testimony.

As De Mar reported,

“We would go to the club, we would go to the strip club. I’ve been to a concert of his and we would go to a bathhouse…”

Plus, the brothers would buy drugs for Smollett. According to Osundairo, these included “weed, cocaine, and molly.”

The things you do for your friends! Especially when you think they can further whatever acting career you think you have.

On top of that, the brothers had been creating meal plans for clients, and Jussie Smollett wanted help in getting physically toned. So they put together a plan for Smollett, for which they would typically charge from $30 to $80. However, for Jussie the meals would be free.

Looks like Jussie Smollett and the Osundairo brothers acted more like BFF’s than antagonists. And Olabinjo Osundairo is set to testify later this week, which should provide for even more juicy morsels about Smollett’s hack directing abilities.

Wouldn’t you just love to be able to watch this trial, and watch these two testify? It would be every bit as gripping as the Kyle Rittenhouse proceedings, and twice as entertaining.

Alas, we can’t. That’s because Cook County Judge James Linn won’t allow cameras, even though Chicago courtrooms have had cameras before. But this is Chicago, and it’s all about corrupt Democrat politics — in other words, business-as-usual.

The trial would upset Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx — beneficiary of George Soros money — who at first dismissed charges against Jussie Smollett. Catch-and-release Judge Tim Evans wouldn’t want cameras in the courtroom either. Evans is also Chief Judge of the Cook County Circuit Court, and Judge Linn’s boss. See how that works?

Surprised? Don’t be. It’s the Chicago Way, and it smells as fishy as Jussie Smollett’s tuna sandwich.

Featured image: Automotive Rhythms/flickr/cropped/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.