While the documentary is well-made, with strong cinematography and storytelling, it ultimately feels like a missed opportunity to explore the deeper political context.
Rather than providing clarity, it seems to leave just enough ambiguity to allow room for manipulation. Many believed from the beginning that political motivations were at play in Jussie Smollett's actions, yet the film avoids thoroughly investigating who else may have influenced or stood to benefit from the situation.
The incident occurred during a peak in identity politics and social advocacy in 2019, a time when public outrage-particularly within the Black community-was often leveraged to push broader LGBTQ political agendas. This dynamic, and the psychological or strategic motivations behind such acts, is notably absent from the documentary's analysis.
There's also little discussion of the broader industry or political context-especially potential connections to figures like Lee Daniels or organizations like GLAAD, who may have had vested interests in shaping the narrative. Instead, the film leans toward rehabilitating a story that, for many, never felt credible and was even offensive to real victims. Comparing sexuality-based discrimination to the historical trauma of racial violence, for political gain, is a line that deserves much more scrutiny.
The documentary would have been far more compelling had it examined the complex intersection of media, activism, and Hollywood influence with the seriousness it deserves. Jussie employed a false equivalence tactic to manipulate public sentiment-but he was not acting alone.
