Back in 2019, Jussie Smollett — who you probably know best from his performance on Empire — was indicted on 16 felony counts by a Chicago grand jury for allegedly filing a false police report regarding a hate crime that he claimed to be the victim of.
When filing the report, Jussie alleged that two men shouted racial and homophobic slurs at him while putting a noose over his neck and pouring bleach on him. In 2021, he was found guilty of falsely reporting a hate crime, but in 2024 the conviction was overturned by the Illinois Supreme Court.
In a new interview with Variety that was published ahead of the forthcoming Netflix documentary The Truth About Jussie Smollett?, the actor maintained his innocence and claimed that he was a victim of the hate crime that he was eventually charged for allegedly making a false report of.
“The villains are the two people who assaulted me, the Chicago Police Department and, if I may be so brave, the mayor,” he said, referring to former Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel.
Jussie also alleged that the 2014 murder of teenager Laquan McDonald by Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke played a role in the scrutiny surrounding him. “Could it be that they had just found out about the missing minutes and the missing tape from the murder of Laquan McDonald? he said. “Could it be that the mayor helped hide that?”
“We’re living in a world where the higher-ups, their main mission, in order to do all of the underhanded things that they’re doing, is to distract us with the shiny object,” he added.
Jussie went on to address the pair of brothers, Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo, who eventually alleged to authorities that they’d planned the hate crime hoax along with the actor. “All I can say is, God bless you, and I hope it was worth it,” he said. “Every single other person’s story has changed multiple times. Mine has never. I have nothing to gain from this.”
When asked why exonerating evidence supporting Jussie’s claims hasn’t yet emerged six years after the initial report, he replied, “To be honest with you, I don’t really know. I’m not an investigative reporter or a detective. I can’t sit and tell you exactly, beat by beat, what happened.”
“I can only tell you what did not happen. And what did not happen is the story that’s been out there for almost seven years, that somehow I would have even a reason to do something as egregious as this.”
You can read the entire interview here.