Brothers who helped Jussie Smollett in vile anti-Trump hoax issue disgraced actor bombshell demand

The Nigerian brothers who were made a laughingstock after being wrapped up in Jussie Smollett's anti-Trump hoax have demanded the actor finally come clean, saying the stunt 'ruined' their lives for years.

Abel and Ola Osundairo told DailyMail.com in an interview that the claims against them severed their budding acting careers back in 2019, and said 'people just didn't want anything to do with us.'

'I had agents pull out from our relationship,' Abel said. 'We had friends and family asking us questions about it, strangers accusing us.... it was all very negative.' 

'Places where we tried to work wouldn't hire us, and there were people that just didn't want anything to do with us.' 

The brothers found themselves at the center of a media firestorm five years ago when they say Smollett convinced them to stage a bizarre stunt so the actor could claim he was beaten and almost lynched by men wearing MAGA hats. 

But his story fell apart after cops traced the stunt to the Osundairo brothers, and while they came clean and said they were trying to innocently help out a friend, Smollett has maintained his innocence. 

'He won't admit his guilt, and him claiming that he's innocent means that we're lying, and those both can't be true,' Ola said. 'He needs to face it.'

They said the strange saga years ago enveloped their lives for years - including needing to fight a bizarre and offensive allegation they used 'whiteface' during the hoax, levied by Smollett's own lawyer.  

Abel said he was first introduced to Smollett through a friend, and initially found the actor to be a kind an 'genuine' person.  

'They were going to hang out at his house and asked if I wanted to come,' he said, adding that because he is also a professional actor, Smollett would have been 'good to know.'

'We became cool,' he continued. 'He started inviting me out to clubs, out to shows, and then he came to me for tips for working out.'

Despite Smollett's now-shattered reputation, Abel said he found the actor to be a 'genuine guy' when they first became friends.

'He was very easy to get along with,' he added. 'He only changed after the incident.' 

Speaking with Fox News, the brothers previously revealed that Smollett talked them into the hoax by claiming A-list celebrities' fake hoaxes often, and named Kim Kardashian's robbery in France in 2016 as an example. 

Abel said that Smollett made the claim about Kardashian's robbery when they were together, 'in my car on the way to my house, when he was telling me the plan.' 

'He was telling me that everyone in Hollywood does this,' he added.  

The terrifying episode saw Kardashian 'bound and gagged' at gunpoint by masked robbers posing as police officers while staying at l'Hotel de Pourtalès, as they stole $10 million worth of luxury jewelry.

The perpetrators were arrested and convicted following a trial in Paris, and there is no suggestion from French authorities that the robbery was a hoax.

Despite the wild claim, the brothers said they saw the stunt as a way of advancing their Hollywood ambitions, as well as wanting to help out a friend. 

But the move had the opposite effect. Before the stunt, the brothers were still launching their acting careers, with Abel credited on films such as 'The Worst Nightmare', and Ola on an episode of Chicago PD. 

Ola said since the incident, however, 'being associated with Jussie' was a constant hurdle in their careers, including 'stopping all auditions' for years. 

'I had agents pull out from our relationship,' Abel added. 'It was all very affected at that time.' 

'Places where we tried to work wouldn't hire us, and there were people that just didn't want anything to do with us.'

When asked if it frustrates them that Smollett is attempting to break back into Hollywood, Ola said it did not - but 'what annoys me is that he won't admit his guilt.' 

The brothers have gone on to become involved in the boxing and fight promotion world, with Abel boasting a 6-1-0 professional boxing record since turning pro two years ago. 

When accusations Smollett was lying first emerged, his attorney claimed that the brothers may have been misidentified by Smollett as white men because they could have been wearing 'whiteface' makeup. 

The attorney, Tina Glandian, went on to point to a 2016 YouTube video of Abel Osundairo where he is wearing white make-up to perform a Joker monologue for Halloween as proof of her theory. 

Abel said the accusation was extremely offensive to them and their family, especially 'given the history of blackface in America.' 

'That would have been such a ridiculous thing for someone like us,' he said. 'But we had friends and family asking us questions about it, strangers accusing us.' 

Following years of scrutiny, the brothers say Smollett has never tried to contact them, and pointed out that the actor 'still owes us $500.'

But despite their history together, the brothers said that if the actor reached out, they would take his call. 

'As a child of God, I would have to accept his apology,' Abel said. 

'But he would first have to come out and admit his guilt. I could forgive him, but at the end of the day it would be nice if he admitted what really happened to the world.' 

Now focusing on their boxing and trying to 'turn over a new leaf', the brothers put their side of the story to bed earlier this year as they released a tell-all book. 

Titled 'Bigger Than Jussie: The Disturbing Need for a Modern-Day Lynching', Abel said he felt it was the 'right time to tell the truth.' 

'With his conviction being overturned, people can now see it, and can see he is not innocent,' he continued. 

'He'll try ride off into the sunset and say he's innocent... his lawyer is now trying to make it seem like he was innocent all along, and we just can't allow that to take place. 

'We're giving people the means to consume the truth.'