Actor Jussie Smollett, who stars in the Fox television show “Empire,” has been under fire since he claimed that he was a victim of a hate crime by two Trump supporters back in January. According to Smollett, the two men beat him, put a noose around his neck and poured bleach on him. Fans and celebrities showed support on social media for Smollett when word about the attack spread like wildfire. However, according to a Feb. 21 Reuters News Agency article, Smollett has been arrested for lying to the police about the attack.

Allegedly, the actor paid two men to beat him up and to make it look as though he was attacked. Now the public is outraged and most say that Smollett should face jail time for lying about his attack. In my opinion, I think he should face the consequences if the accusations of lying are true. The main reason I say this is because, now that a huge star like Smollett has lied about being attacked, actual victims of hate crimes will also be accused of lying. It’s no secret that people of color and the LGBTQ community are often faced with discrimination and on occasion, hate crimes.

For those who say Smollett wanted to bring awareness to issues like this, I say that he could have done so in a way that did not involve lying to the police and fooling everyone. Also, because Smollett is facing these charges, I think that anyone should face the same consequences for calling the police when nothing has happened. This includes Alison Ettel, also known as “permit Patty,” the woman who called the police on an 8-year-old girl who was selling water to raise money. It also includes the white woman who called police on a crowd of black people having a barbeque in the park.

I believe that Smollett should face the consequences if it is proven that he faked the attack because it is not only a misuse of the police, but it also takes away credibility from actual victims of hate crimes. And if Smollett is facing charges for lying to the police, so should anyone regardless of gender, race or sexual orientation.