This morning, Jussie Smollett was trending because of Bubba Wallace.
What?
Immediately, many thought Smollett was trending because of some new developments in his supposed racial hate crime incident in Chicago back in January 2019.
However, it was due to speculation that Bubba Wallace had faked his own hate crime yesterday. Where they do that at?
To recap, a noose was found in Bubba Wallace’s garage stall at Talladega Superspeedway Sunday afternoon, NASCAR announced. Wallace is NASCAR’s only black full-time driver.
He recently led the push to ban the Confederate flag from NASCAR events.
The race, the NASCAR Cup Series GEICO 500, was postponed until Monday due to rain.
“We are angry and outraged, and cannot state strongly enough how seriously we take this heinous act,” NASCAR said in a statement Sunday night. “We have launched an immediate investigation, and will do everything we can to identify the person(s) responsible and eliminate them from the sport.
“As we have stated unequivocally, there is no place for racism in NASCAR, and this act only strengthens our resolve to make the sport open and welcoming to all,” the statement concluded.
The Wallace Effect
Wallace has been a target online for those who don’t like the changes he is making to the sport. He called the display a “despicable act of racism and hatred.”
He also said it left him “incredibly saddened and serves as a painful reminder of how much further we have to go as a society and how persistent we must be in the fight against racism.”
“Over the last several weeks, I have been overwhelmed by the support from people across the NASCAR industry including other drivers and team members in the garage,” Wallace said in a statement on social media.
“Together, our sport has made a commitment to driving real change and championing a community that is accepting and welcoming of everyone. Nothing is more important and we will not be deterred by the reprehensible actions of those who seek to spread hate.
“As my mother told me today, ‘They are just trying to scare you.’ This will not break me, I will not give in nor will I back down. I will continue to proudly stand for what I believe in.”
On Sunday, a plane flew over Talladega Superspeedway towing the Confederate flag with a sign, “DEFUND NASCAR.”
In addition, a caravan of vehicles draped with the flag also drove by the venue in protest.
The Smollett Effect
Over a year ago, Jussie Smollett was accused by Chicago detectives of staging a racist and anti-gay attack on him.
They claimed it was because he was unhappy with his salary and wanted to promote his career.
Smollett originally was charged with disorderly conduct in February 2019 for allegedly staging the attack and then lying about it.
He said two men beat him up; shouted racist and anti-gay slurs, threw bleach on him and put a noose around his neck. However, the story fell apart.
Brothers Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo told police the actor had paid them $3,500 to stage the attack.
But now anytime a celebrity has a similar incident occur it is an automatic clout chasing assumption?
If the protest movement has taught anything, its that Black Lives Matter when the cameras are rolling only. Any assumption that Wallace faked his own hate crime is racist. It feeds the beast that black activists and supportive celebrities will do anything to control the current narrative.
Wallace deserves better. However, Twitter is a mirror of the thinking of a segment of the population resistant to empathy and change.
