Skip to content
GIVING DAY is April 11! Starting now, you can support CSSH students and programs with a $5+ gift to any of our funds.
Apply
Stories

Why would someone fake a hate crime?

People in this story

(AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)
Actor Jussie Smollett, center, arrives with family Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021, at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse on day four of his trial in Chicago.

Set amidst a bitter, divisive U.S. presidential election and a steadily-growing Black Lives Matter movement, actor Jussie Smollett exploded onto center stage in early 2019 after claiming he was the target of a late-night beating at the hands two racist, homophobic Trump supporters. The former “Empire” TV star awaits sentencing after a Chicago jury found him guilty of five counts of felony disorderly conduct for staging the attack, which could mean up to three years in prison. Even as the details emerge, many are still confused as to why the 39-year-old lied about a vicious hate crime, something that remains a constant reality for those in the LGBTQ community and those who are Black or Asian.

“As humans, we like to look for certain types of explanations of behavior. It’s something that we engage in all the time,” says Rory Smead, an associate professor of philosophy at Northeastern who studies spite. “There are really only two kinds of explanations that people find satisfying. Either they did it out of some ethical or moral good, like when somebody jumps in the river to save somebody. The only other reason we find compelling is a selfish reason, that there’s some kind of personal gain or something,” Smead says.

Continue reading at News@Northeastern.

More Stories

image of new show

The hit series ‘Shogun’ is exposing more people to Japanese history. But how accurate is it?

03.28.2024
image of Trump Media & Technology Group stock market trading information is seen on a television at the Nasdaq Marketplace on March 26, 2024 in New York City. Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Is Trump Media & Technology Group a meme stock? Finance experts draw parallels to GameStop, crypto.

03.28.2024
image of dark silver iphone in hand with title

European regulators are cracking down on Alphabet, Apple and Meta. Will that have an impact on how their products work around the world?

03.28.24
All Stories