I think it’s a fair comparison. My point is that it’s not implausible that someone who has never seen Empire would know who Smollett is, especially given how vocal he is on Twitter with the anti-Trump sentiments. Like the Beyhive, MAGA-ians will find you if you dare speak out against their idol. None of this is to defend Smollett. I’m just saying that a lot of the initial knee-jerk skepticism was as politically motivated as the knee-jerk acceptance of Smollett’s story in the beginning.