Jussie Smollett is a name synonymous with one of the most controversial incidents in recent times.
From his alleged assault in Chicago to the investigation that followed, his seemingly terrifying ordeal dominated headlines for months.
Now the 43-year-old American actor and singer is sharing his story with Netflix viewers. Here’s everything you need to The Truth About Jussie Smollett?
What’s The Truth About Jussie Smollett About?
Netflix has recently announced the release of the documentary centring on Jussie Smollett.
The actor best known for his role on the hit show Empire became the center of a high-profile scandal in 2019 after claiming he was the victim of a brutal hate crime in Chicago.
He alleged that two men attacked him in the early hours of January 29 of that year.
According to his story, the assailants “shouted racial and homophobic slurs”, and “poured an unknown chemical substance on the victim” as well as tying “a rope around his neck.”
Smollett also stated that the men referenced his fame, saying, “This is MAGA country,” a phrase associated with supporters of former President Donald Trump.
He was treated at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and was released “in good condition” later that morning.
The film represents his first public statement on the case since his 2019 interview with ABC News correspondent Robin Roberts.
“As I pored over the news archive, it reflected the divided, politicized world emerging in the first Trump era: the MAGA movement was in full swing, the BLM movement was sprouting, trust in police and media was faltering — and Jussie’s story was the perfect nexus of it all,” director Gagan Rehill told Netflix.
The Real Life Incident Behind the Controversy
According to reports at the time, police investigated the case and believed that Jussie had paid to who were also brothers, to stage the assault.
The brothers, who were once acquaintances of his, initially told authorities they had been hired to help carry out the fake assault.
They claimed that the actor had paid them $3,500 to stage the crime as a way to boost his career and attention for a reported salary dispute with the producers of Empire.
Further investigations revealed that he had been in contact with the brothers leading up to the event, and surveillance footage from nearby cameras contradicted his account of the attack.
Eventually, the Chicago Police Department charged the Smollett with filing a false police report, a felony.
In March 2019, Jussie Smollett’s lawyers worked out a deal with the prosecutors. The deal allowed all charges against him to be dropped if Smollett agreed to do community service and give up the $10,000 he had paid as a bond.
However, in February 2020, the TV star was indicted again by a grand jury in Cook County on six new charges for making four false police reports.
By December 2021, he was found guilty on five felony counts for these false reports.
In March 2022, Smollett was sentenced to 150 days in county jail and was ordered to pay back $120,106 to cover the costs of the overtime that Chicago police officers spent investigating his false claims.
Then, in November 2024, the Illinois Supreme Court overturned Smollett’s conviction.
The court ruled that his rights under the Fifth Amendment had been violated because he was prosecuted again after the original plea deal.
Despite this, special prosecutor Dan Webb said that he was “not innocent” and pointed out that during the appeal, his defense team never denied the strong evidence that showed he had staged a fake hate crime and reported it to the police.
Who Is Jussie Smollett?
Jussie Smollett was born on June 21, 1982, in Santa Rosa, California, to a family of entertainers.
He came out to his parents as gay at the age of 19.
His career in the acting business began at an early age. One of his first roles was in the 1992 movie The Mighty Ducks.
He is now famously known for playing Jamal Lyon on the TV series Empire.m, which premiered in 2015.
Aside from acting, Smollett directed B-Boy Blues, a movie based on the 1994 black gay novel by James Earl Hardy. The movie was released in November 2021.
He is also a musician. Jussie released his debut album, Sum of My Music, in March 2018, through his own label, Music of Sound.
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