Jussie Smollett Trends On Twitter After NASCAR Says A Noose Was Found In Bubba Wallace’s Garage
Former Empire actor Jussie Smollett is in the news once again, this time alongside NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace. NASCAR confirmed that Wallace’s crew found a noose in the driver’s garage on Sunday, and right-wingers have been promoting the assertion that the driver put it in place himself, as The Inquisitr previously reported.
Wallace, who is NASCAR’s only full-time Black driver, was part of the push to remove the Confederate flag from event centers, a move that was controversial to many. The noose was reported at one of the first events NASCAR has held following the flag ban and there seemed to be no lack of disenfranchised fans due to their decision.
"It's so sad and unfortunate that that's the case. It's a clear indication that this country has a long way to go… for some, they're just not able to apparently let go of their old ways."
Former NASCAR driver Bill Lester reacts to a noose being found in Bubba Wallace's garage. pic.twitter.com/VgrValypap
— CNN Newsroom (@CNNnewsroom) June 22, 2020
Wallace has been compared to Smollett due to the conjecture of some more suspicious fans who believe the NASCAR driver may be attempting to draw attention to his career by making himself a victim. Smollett filed a police report in January 2019 saying that he was attacked by two men who hurled racial and homophobic slurs at him and tied a rope around his neck. Police later recovered evidence indicating that Smollett paid two men to perpetrate the attack.
Social media users are putting forward the idea that Wallace may also have victimized himself, though any evidence to back up that claim is as yet unknown.
Multiple tweets were posted making various claims about Wallace and why people believed he was faking a racially charged threat on himself.
One user went so far as to say that she has a “really bad feeling NASCAR will not be very forthcoming if it is a Jussie Smollett situation,” saying she’s concerned the noose was a “faked incident just to stir people up.
“This isn’t the NASCAR I grew up watching as a kid. Things are changing now. Sadly.”
Many comments were met with pushback, however, including one user who made it made it clear she doesn’t believe Smollett’s actions should discount years of ill-treatment for many in the Black community.
“Right, they always go straight to Jussie Smollett as if that one fool can erase hundreds of years of this s***—top tier clownery.”
Right-wing pundit Scott Pressler appeared to be convinced of the driver’s guilt, lumping Wallace with not only Smollett but other hot button political issues near and dear to conservatives, including the accusations against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, in his tweet on the subject.
However, actress Erika Heidewald called out those who assumed Wallace’s guilt in her tweet where she came out against naysayers. “Yes, saying the Bubba Wallace situation is ‘another Jussie Smollett’ is racist.”
“You’re only comparing the two because they’re both Black and you’re using the actions of one individual to dismiss an entire group. There are billions of Black people in the world.”
Comedian Nicole Arbour, however, found what she believed was some unity in the comparison.
The drivers and crew at Talladega on Monday don’t appear to believe that Wallace was at fault, as evidenced by the driver’s competitors and their crew members getting onto the track to escort his car to the starting point. The moving display, which brought an emotional reaction from Wallace, showed NASCAR greats rallying around the driver who has been at the center of the controversy.
Fellow drivers push Bubba Wallace's No. 43 car to the front in Talladega in solidarity after a noose was found in his garage stall. #IStandWithBubba pic.twitter.com/5pfhcPIBwZ
— Holly Figueroa O'Reilly (@AynRandPaulRyan) June 22, 2020
