Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.

I grew up knowing the difference between a mistake and a pattern. A mistake is a bad night. A pattern is a system. Netflix’s “The Truth About Jussie Smollett” makes you think the story is about him and whether he lied, staged a hoax, or played the media.

That’s the bait.

The real shock isn’t Jussie. The real shock is the Chicago Police Department, a force with hundreds of misconduct complaints, a history of covering up brutality, and a knack for turning Black victims into villains. Forget debating whether Jussie is “believable.” The real debate should be: how can anyone trust the people deciding his fate?

Let’s be clear: the officers tied to Smollett’s case had 563 complaints on their records. Not five. Not fifty. Five hundred sixty-three. If a surgeon had even five malpractice suits, you wouldn’t let them touch a scalpel. If a teacher had dozens of abuse complaints, they’d be banned from classrooms. But in Chicago, hundreds of misconduct complaints don’t end a career; instead, they make you a lead detective. And those same detectives get to decide the fate of a Black man under the glare of national media.

Consider how the investigation unfolded. Security guard Anthony Moore testified that he saw a white or pale-skinned man fleeing the scene. Instead of following that lead, detectives stacked a lineup with only Black men and told Moore to pick “the lightest one.” That isn’t a mistake. That is rigging the outcome. Then there’s the missing footage of ten crucial seconds that vanished from surveillance cameras. Ten seconds. If those seconds disappeared in a case against the police, the evidence would have been thrown out. But here? They were ignored because they didn’t fit the CPD’s story.

And it gets worse. This is Chicago. The same department that covered up the killing of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, who was shot 16 times while walking away from officers. For over a year, the official story claimed he “lunged” at police with a knife. Dashcam footage later revealed the truth: officers closed ranks to protect one of their own. That wasn’t a mistake. That was a pattern. And if they could bury the truth about a child’s death, why should anyone trust them to get it right in a celebrity case?

Jussie Smollett’s story makes it easy to get lost in debate. Did he lie? Did he embellish? But let’s be honest: Jussie is a mirror. He reflects everything we expect from the media, the public, and the police. We want him to be guilty because it makes us feel smart, because it makes the world orderly. But what if the shock isn’t that Jussie lied? What if the shock is that we are conditioned to trust the people lying to us?

Even the Illinois Supreme Court overturned Smollett’s conviction, ruling that prosecutors violated his due process rights. That should have sparked outrage. Instead, the world shrugged, joked, and argued over whether Jussie was “worth believing.” We missed the real scandal is that the system that judged him is built to win, not to tell the truth.

I know this playbook. I grew up in the Bronx, stopped and searched, and was lied on by police. I’ve lived the reality where an officer’s word outweighs yours, where their version becomes fact, and your own memory becomes fiction. Watching this documentary, I can’t focus on Jussie’s honesty alone. The bigger question is: why do we keep trusting a system with a long track record of abuse and deception?

The real story is not Jussie Smollett. It is the fact that the people judging him were Chicago police officers with 563 misconduct complaints, missing evidence, and a decades-long record of lying and covering up brutality. Yet they were still allowed to control the narrative. That is the real hoax.

Arguing about whether Jussie was truthful is a distraction. The real question is why we keep trusting a system that was never built to deliver truth in the first place. In Chicago, mistakes are ignored. Patterns are protected. Corruption is routine. This is not about one man. It is about a system that has proven over and over again that it cannot be trusted with Black lives. The real lie is the system itself.

Jonathan Conyers is the author of the acclaimed memoir I Wasn’t Supposed to Be Here. He is also a respiratory therapist, writer, and producer, as well as the owner and investor of several successful business ventures. Through his storytelling and work, Conyers continues to amplify underrepresented voices and create impact across industries.

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Streaming culture is unfiltered emotion, and Yonna Jay provided that last night. The young social media personality whose untamed looks and amiable streams are becoming increasingly popular wept on stream after she broke the news that she was robbed, harassed, and kicked out of the Atlanta home where she lived after the landlord orchestrated a strange scam.

The 100 A Year Rent Scam

In a popular TikTok and Twitter clip, Yonna described how she was offered a tiny house in Atlanta for a ridiculously cheap $100 per year. “Bitch, who wouldn’t accept a tiny home for $100 a year?” she taunted her audience, visibly agitated.

As she explains it, she was presented to alleged tiny home dwellers by one of the people she knows who were making the ridiculous offer. Assuming it was genuine, she transferred the items of her existence into this setup thinking she had struck gold on the rental market.

Rather, Yonna said she didn’t expect it to happen. On stream, she outlined why the landlord trudged on the porch, literally touching things and kicking her out of the house. “I just don’t think it’s right to touch other people’s things, if you know what I mean,” she told her chat, holding back tears. Clips of video from previous streams allegedly of the man involved hanging around the house in the week or so preceding the actual eviction.

From Atlanta Dreams to Hotel Rooms

Her impassioned testimony described how quickly the ATL trial with the influencer imploded. Yonna said that she had relocated to Georgia partly because it’s near her grandparents outside of North Carolina, and she wanted to “try it out” and see if she would enjoy living there permanently. Her desire to live affordably in a hip mini-house, though, was dashed when she realized that the landlord’s guarantees were a scam.

She has a hotel room now as she is figuring out what she is going to do next. “I’d love to live in ATL though,” she admitted. “But as far as inside, you know, I don’t have a problem finding a job. So we’re gonna go check out another job today, and this one’s gonna be really fun.”

Related

President Donald Trump fired Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook late Monday, a sharp escalation in his battle to exert greater control over what has long been considered an institution independent from day-to-day politics.

Trump said in a letter posted on his Truth Social platform that he is firing Cook because of allegations that she committed mortgage fraud. Bill Pulte, a Trump appointee to the agency that regulates mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, made the accusations last week.

Pulte alleged that Cook had claimed two primary residences — in Ann Arbor, Michigan and Atlanta — in 2021 to get better mortgage terms. Mortgage rates are often higher on second homes or those purchased to rent.

The announcement came days after Cook said she wouldn’t leave her post despite Trump previously calling for her to resign. The Fed’s board has seven members, meaning Trump’s move could have deep economic and political ramifications.

Trump said in announcing the move that he had the constitutional authority to remove Cook, but doing so will raise questions about control of the Fed as an independent entity.

The firing is likely to touch off a legal battle and Cook could be allowed to remain in her seat while the case plays out. Cook would have to fight the legal battle herself, as the injured party, rather than the Fed.

It is the latest effort by the administration to take control over one of the few remaining independent agencies in Washington. Trump has repeatedly attacked the Fed’s chair, Jerome Powell, for not cutting its short-term interest rate, and even threatened to fire him.

Forcing Cook off the Fed’s governing board would provide Trump an opportunity to appoint a loyalist. Trump has said he would only appoint officials who would support cutting rates.

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The net craves nothing more than a scandal, and this week it was social media fixated over Power Book II: Ghost actress Alix Lapri, whose given name is Alexus Geier, after what appeared to be a mugshot of the actress went viral. The assertion? That the 28-year-old singer and actress from Topeka was arrested on August 18 in DeKalb County, Georgia, on charges of child cruelty and disorderly conduct.

A Rumor and a Mugshot

The chaos began when there was a supposed arrest report uploaded on a news website called The Georgia Gazette wherein “Alexus Geier” was reported to have been booked. In a move to further obscure the news, there was a mugshot on the Web with the charges that had fans believing the love interest on the Starz wildly acting Power spin-off Effie Morales actor Tariq St. Patrick was arrested.

Then Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram came along and did what comes naturally to them: spreading the news like gospel, where the hashtags around Lapri’s supposed fall went viral overnight.

The Facts: Receipts Don’t Match

This is where it gets tricky. Although the arrest record went live on the internet, there is no credible news outlet or verified medium that has reported Alix Lapri was arrested. Actually, the social media history of the woman indicates something entirely different.

It was on August 21 when five days after she was purportedly arrested, Lapri posted a hilarious video clip of herself partying at a bar.

She posted on Instagram a recent Carousel featuring behind-scenes footage from the shooting on the location of her recent acting project. Captioned:

“gotta keep at it buddy. chase the dream and know no fear.”

Not exactly words spoken from the confines of the county jail.

Why Fans Got Hooked on It

The early panic was probably due to poor timing and the rumor mill that is the web. There is an “Alexus Geier” on Georgia’s DeKalb County arrest database. But is she the Alix Lapri, the 1.3 million Instagram-followed Hollywood starlet, we can’t confirm. And if the web action was any indicator, she was neither locked up nor holed up but on set, still going for the goal.

Related

Denzel Washington appears to be having the time of his life during the press run for “Highest 2 Lowest.”

During a recent sit-down with GQ with A$AP Rocky and Spike Lee, the 70-year-old actor didn’t just steal the show; he literally stole something. 

While the trio talked, Washington reached over and jokingly took Rocky’s Rolex right off his wrist and slipped it on his own as casually as ever. 

Rocky cried out, “Yo! I’m getting robbed by Denzel right now,” while Spike Lee added with a grin that Rocky might never get it back if it fit. 

As fate would have it, the watch fit Denzel perfectly, as he flashed it at the camera with a devilish grin.

Then came the instant dad-joke classic. Rocky noted that throughout his “whole life,” his mother would gass him up by saying he looked like Washington. She is far from the only one who sees the resemblance, as many fans have also highlighted it. 

Without missing a beat, Denzel shot back, “Mom, should we tell him?” sending both Rocky and Spike into laughter.

A$AP also shared a heartwarming anecdote about the first time he met Washington nearly a decade ago. During the Christmas holiday in 2016, A$AP Rocky found himself at the Washingtons’ family home. After meeting the veteran actor, introducing him to his then-girlfriend, and giving a noncommittal answer about what they were, Washington said something that stuck with him.

“[In] a few years, you know you have to get it together,” he said. 

Directed by Lee, “Highest 2 Lowest” is a dynamic crime thriller that reimagines Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 classic “High and Low” in modern-day New York. In the film, Washington stars as David King, a powerful music mogul whose world unravels when he becomes entangled in a kidnapping and ransom plot. 

Meanwhile, A$AP plays Yung Felon, a streetwise hustler whose path collides with King’s in explosive ways. The cast also features Jeffrey Wright as the driver of Washington’s character, Ilfenesh Hadera as King’s wife, Pam, and Ice Spice, making her big-screen debut in a breakout supporting role.

The film premiered at Cannes in May 2025, opened in select U.S. theaters on Aug. 15, and will begin streaming on Apple TV+ on Sept. 5, 2025. In addition to rave reviews from critics and moviegoers alike, Rocky is already generating early Oscar buzz for his turn as Yung Felon, with some calling it a career-defining performance.

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The Love Island USA Season 7 reunion is on tonight on Peacock, but the rumors about full-blown detective investigation began already after the fans discovered the show’s golden couple, Amaya Espinal and Bryan Arenales, completely unfollowed each other on Instagram. You did read that correctly. The couple who won the season, who walked off into the sunset arm-in-arm, with hands full of money, and with mouths full of forever love words, now are not even following one another on the most toxic relationship scoreboard on the planet.

From “Prince Charming” to “Disappointed but Not Surprised”

Let’s take it back. Amaya’s parting line from the villa was literally plucked straight from the pages of the Nicholas Sparks novel. She described Bryan as “a man who drains my cup” and “evidence that fairtales exist.” Bryan shot it back the same way, proclaiming Amaya his “peace to the chaos” and vowing he’d run the Love Island circuit a hundred times just to come back to see her. Ew, isn’t that just sometimes just that? Barf-inducingly so.

Three weeks forward, and Amaya’s re-posts on TikTok are crying sad girl starter pack. Within the past 48 hours alone, she’s posted a reel on being “disappointed but not surprised,” a Scandal cut on never letting her walls come down again, and another proclaiming “how it feels when you know you gotta leave him alone.” Honey, if this isn’t a thesis on heartbreak, then I don’t know what.

Cheating Rumors, Baseball Pitches, and Dad Drama

The news of the breakup isn’t new. Fans were already on chaos mode when someone speculated that Bryan was cheating. Amaya and Bryan shut it down afterwards with a smug couples tiktok labeled “When everyone thinks you’re over meanwhile this is us.” Cute damage control till the cracks began showing.

Let’s return just a few weeks ago when the pair was so preppy together throwing out the first pitch together at Fenway. Amaya even went so far on her Instagram story placing little red hearts around Bryan’s face calling him her “crush.” But behind the couple-goals photo shoot the cheating rumor would just wouldn’t quit. So much so that even Bryan’s dad had to intervene on fan pages to defend son typing angrily on the comments: “PLEASE STOP LIES & RUMORS!!!!! That’s NOT TRUE. That’s absolutely NOT true. Bryan’s Dad” Sir, when the parents actually Log into Instagram fan accounts, things already haven’t quite gone so great.

Andy Cohen and the ReunionBombshell

Of course, Andy Cohen wasn’t gonna let that mess slide. In the reunion trailer he is specifically calling Bryan out: “Chris, you were with Bryan the night of the alleged cheating.” Bryan, sitting there looking like he wishes he could just fade into the floor, apologizes accordingly: “I had a lapse of judgment.” What does that even even describe? A kiss with a few drinks involved? A taboo DM? Poor word choice the editorial staff at Peacock are spinning for ratings gold? We will see the aftermath on the TV when we view it, but the internet at large already collectively pronounced them finished.

From Vows of Eternity to Instagram Silence

Just a month ago, Amaya and Bryan were updating Us Weekly that they were playing it slow, focusing on one another, and doing nothing for the “public eye.” Amaya even joked “the public would definitely be seeing me and Bry Bry.” Well, Bry Bry is now MIA on her feed, and she’s MIA on his.

“Happily ever after” is now really just “oh, that couple we assumed would stick around to September.” The fairytale quite literally may be done right here, and if it is, the pain already is getting the better of Amaya more than that Fenway opening day pitcher. Leave it on, however, because if tonight’s reunion goes down the way viewers are hoping it does, this breakup will be the year’s largest reality TV meltdown.

Related

Some National Guard units patrolling the nation’s capital at the direction of President Donald Trump have started carrying firearms, an escalation of his military deployment that makes good on a directive issued late last week by his defense secretary.

A Defense Department official who was not authorized to speak publicly said some units on certain missions would be armed — some with handguns and others with rifles. The spokesperson said that all units with firearms have been trained and are operating under strict rules for use of force.

An Associated Press photographer on Sunday saw members of the South Carolina National Guard outside Union Station with holstered handguns.

A statement from the joint task force that has taken over policing in the nation’s capital said units began carrying their service weapons on Sunday and that the military’s rules say force should be used “only as a last resort and solely in response to an imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm.” It said the force is committed to protecting “the safety and wellbeing” of Washington’s residents.

The defense official who spoke to The Associated Press said only troops on certain missions would carry guns, and that would include those patrolling to establish a law enforcement presence throughout the capital. Those working in transportation or administration would likely remain unarmed.

Thousands of National Guard and federal law enforcement officers are now patrolling the district’s streets, drawing sporadic protests from local residents.

The development in Trump’s extraordinary effort to override the law enforcement authority of state and local governments comes as he is considering expanding the deployments to other Democratic-led cities, including Baltimore, Chicago and New York.

Earlier Sunday, the president responded to an offer by Maryland’s governor to join him in a tour of Baltimore by saying he might instead “send in the ‘troops.’”

Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, has criticized Trump’s unprecedented flex of federal power aimed at combatting crime and homelessness in Washington. Moore last week invited Trump to visit his state to discuss public safety and walk the streets.

In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump said Moore asked “in a rather nasty and provocative tone,” and then raised the specter of repeating the National Guard deployment he made in Los Angeles over the objections of California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom.

“Wes Moore’s record on Crime is a very bad one, unless he fudges his figures on crime like many of the other ‘Blue States’ are doing,” Trump wrote, as he cited a pejorative nickname he uses frequently for the California governor. “But if Wes Moore needs help, like Gavin Newscum did in L.A., I will send in the ‘troops,’ which is being done in nearby DC, and quickly clean up the Crime.”

Moore said he invited Trump to Maryland “because he seems to enjoy living in this blissful ignorance” about improving crime rates in Baltimore. After a spike during the pandemic that matched nationwide trends, Baltimore’s violent crime rate has fallen. The 200 homicides reported last year were down 24% from the prior year and 42% since 2021, according to city data. Between 2023 and 2024, overall violent crime was down nearly 8% and property crimes down 20%.

“The president is spending all of his time talking about me,” Moore said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday. “I’m spending my time talking about the people I serve.”

Trump is “spouting off a bunch of lies about public safety in Maryland,” Moore said in a fundraising email.

In Washington, where Trump has surged National Guard troops and federal law enforcement officers, a patchwork of protests popped up throughout the city over the weekend, while some normally bustling corners were noticeably quiet. In some of the most populated areas, residents walked by small groups of national guardsmen, often talking among themselves. Videos of arrests and detainments circulated on social media.

Trump has said Chicago and New York are most likely his next targets, eliciting strong pushback from Democratic leaders in both states. The Washington Post reported Saturday that the Pentagon has spent weeks preparing for an operation in Chicago that would include National Guard troops and potentially active-duty forces.

Asked about the Post report, the White House pointed to Trump’s earlier comments discussing his desire to expand his use of military forces to target local crime.

“I think Chicago will be our next,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday, adding, “And then we’ll help with New York.”

Trump has repeatedly described some of the nation’s largest cities — run by Democrats, with Black mayors and majority-minority populations — as dangerous and filthy. Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott is Black, as is Moore. The District of Columbia and New York also have Black mayors.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, speaking during a religious event Sunday at Howard University in Washington, said the Guard’s presence in the nation’s capital was not about crime: “This is about profiling us.”

“This is laced with bigotry and racism,” he later elaborated to reporters. “Not one white mayor has been designated. And I think this is a civil rights issue, a race issue, and an issue of D.C. statehood.”

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, said there is no emergency warranting the deployment of National Guard troops in Chicago.

“Donald Trump is attempting to manufacture a crisis, politicize Americans who serve in uniform, and continue abusing his power to distract from the pain he’s causing families,” Pritzker wrote on X. “We’ll continue to follow the law, stand up for the sovereignty of our state, and protect Illinoisans.”

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said the city doesn’t need “a military occupation” and would sue to block one. He said there has been no communication from the White House about a possible military deployment.

“We’re not going to surrender our humanity to this tyrant,” Johnson said Sunday on MSNBC. “I can tell you this, the city of Chicago has a long history of standing up against tyranny, resisting those who wish to undermine the interests of working people.”