Actor Jussie Smollett has reached a settlement with the City of Chicago over claims he filed a false police report when he claimed he had been attacked and assaulted back in 2019.
The Empire star received a wave of community and celebrity support in January after he claimed to have been attacked, burned with chemicals and had a rope tied around his neck by two men shouting “This is MAGA country” – a reference to Donald Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again’ slogan.
It was later revealed that the two men were known to Jussie Smollett, with both of them having appeared as extras on his television program, and one of them having worked as his personal trainer.
Police claimed that Smollett faked the attack had had paid the brothers $3,500 to carry it out. They allege that the actor was deliberately creating publicity for himself so he could negotiate a higher paycheck on the TV show Empire.
The city filed a lawsuit against Smollett holding him liable for the US$130,000 cost of the police investigation into the alleged crime. Smollett later filed a countersuit against the city.
In December 2021 he was convicted on five felony counts for staging the crime, he struck a plea deal that saw him forfeit his $10,000 bond and undertake 15 hours of community service. Later, after people spoke out against the treatment he had received, Smollett was prosecuted and sentenced to 150 days in jail.
He was released after just three days, and later the conviction was overturned over prosecutorial issues.
Now Smollett has spoken out about the deal which is bringing the saga to an end. He’s agreed to donate to two charities. He’ll give USD$50,000 to Building Brighter Futures Center for the Arts, a nonprofit supporting youth through creative expression, and $10,000 to the Chicago Torture Justice Center, which supports survivors of police violence.
In a lengthy Instagram post Smollett maintained his claim that he had been attacked, and the accusations that he’d been behind the incident were a “false narrative” that had left a “stain” on his character.
Smollett said the court decision which overturned his case had exonerated him, and he maintained his innocence.
“I am innocent in the yes of God and our criminal justice system.” Smollett said.
Smollet’s profile increased sustainably after he was cast as Jamal Lyon on the TV show Empire. He played a gay musician struggling to get the approval of his father, a record label mogul.
The depiction was praised for its positive portrayal of a Black gay man. Smollett himself came out during an interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
The controversy over the attack in Chicago in 2019 appears to have paused Smollett’s acting career for many years.
He’s shifted into directing, in 2021 he directed the gay themed film B-Boy Blues about two Black gay men from different backgrounds who fall in love.
Last year he appeared in and directed the feature film The Lost Holiday in which a mother learns that her estranged son had died. When she travels to Los Angelses to take care of his funeral arrangements she discovers had a husband that she was previously unaware of.
