Jussie Smollett has been jailed for 150 days after being found guilty of staging a homophobic and racist attack against himself.
The actor told the court “I am not suicidal” after his sentence was handed down and protested his innocence.
Jussie, 39, was sentenced to serve 150 days in the Cook County Jail, and 30 months on felony probation, ordered to pay restitution of $120,106 (£91.8k) and fined $25,000 (£19.1k).
The ex-Empire actor was sentenced today (March 10) in Chicago after being found guilty of five of the six felony counts of disorderly conduct against him for for lying to police about being the victim of a racist and homophobic attack
Jussie had been labelled a “charlatan” by the judge and was told he had done damage to real victims of hate crimes.
The judge also said Jussie had committed “hour upon hour of perjury” by taking to the stand and “lying” about what had happened.
(Image: AFP/Getty Images)
Jussie maintained his innocence the whole time.
Last month, Smollett filed documents to ask for a new trial, claiming that his defence team hadn’t been allowed to participate in the jury selection process.
He’s also asking a judge to reverse the verdict and find him not guilty of the six felony disorderly conduct charges.
The former Empire star claimed in 2019 that he had been viciously attacked in the streets of Chicago in the middle of the night while heading to a Subway sandwich shop.
(Image: via REUTERS)
Throughout his trial the 39-year-old maintained that he had not orchestrated the event on himself that allegedly saw two “massive” males shout homophobic and racist abuse at him.
The star also claimed that the alleged Trump supporters also poured liquid over him and tied a noose around his neck.
Jussie insisted that he did not hire brothers Abel and Bola Osundairo to stage the attack.
The Osundairo brothers claimed during the trial that the actor paid them as part of the plot.
(Image: Zuma Press/PA Images)
Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson slammed the actor for lying about his attack seemingly in an effort to raise his own profile and make money.
Jussie’s career halted following his accusations.
Shortly after his claim, he was fired from the hit show Empire as public opinion turned against him.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
