One of the main reasons for the national outrage following news of the Jussie Smollett hate crime had to do with the outpouring of support from celebrities and the entertainment industry. However, as reports continue to surface about Jussie apparently rehearsing attack, the general public is voicing their disapproval.

It was reported earlier this week by several publications that Chicago police believe Jussie may have staged the attack for whatever reason. Allegedly, Smollett paid two Nigerian men who he knew. A report from TMZ today claims that Smollett and the two alleged attackers actually rehearsed the hate crime beforehand.

For the most part, the backlash thus far has been quite energetic on social media. Moreover, conservative pundits have been suggesting the supposed hate crime, if it really was fake, was just a way of making Trump voters look like “racist homophobes.”

Will @RobinRoberts do a follow-up interview with #LyingJussie or will the mainstream media hacks keep playing along with the FAKE sob story?

— Tomi Lahren (@TomiLahren) February 18, 2019

Last month, Smollett claims he was attacked by men shouting Make America Great Again. They supposedly yelled homophobic and racial slurs at him. Jussie is gay and black. He also claims the men tied a noose around his neck before running away.

Celebrities like Shonda Rhimes, Andy Cohen. Kerry Washington, Zendaya, Ariana Grande, and many others have come out in support of the Empire actor. Independent content creators, however, on platforms such as YouTube, have been quite doubtful of the claims.

Additionally, Smollet is also an activist and a celebrity who’s known for petitioning for the rights of LGBTQ people. According to a report from the NBC,  this past weekend, on Saturday, the police spokesperson, Anthony Guglielmi, said the cases had “shifted” in terms of who they’re investigating.

His attorneys, thus far, have claimed that the media and the general public are continuing to victimize him by not believing the story. Noted conservatives such as Tomi Lahren and Dinesh D’Souza have cast further doubt on the situation.

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This past weekend, Tomi took to her Twitter to rhetorically ask, “and Libs wonder why we don’t believe their b*llshit stories.” After the attack, Donald Trump took to his Twitter to condemn the alleged perpetrators.