For now, it appears the Jussie Smollett hate crime hoax saga has reached its endpoint. After years of investigation, media speculation, and court dates, Smollett, the actor best known for his portrayal of Jamal Lyons on the popular FOX drama Empire, was formally sentenced after being found guilty both of staging a hate crime and falsifying a police report, among other charges.
Smollett was sentenced to 150 days in county jail, ordered to pay $120,106 to the city of Chicago for the resources they used to investigate his claims, and to pay $25,000 in fines. Smollett was also ordered to start his sentence immediately upon conviction, meaning he was to go straight from court to county jail because of his fraudulent actions.
Upon sentencing, Smollett immediately had a public outburst in response to his punishment. Smollett publicly stated that while he respected both the judge and the sentence that was given to him, he maintained that he was innocent of any wrongdoing. Not only that, but he stressed that he was not suicidal, and he kept repeating both sentiments as he was escorted out of the courtroom. As he exited, he also added that he could have admitted his guilt a long time ago, but since he didn't, that proves he did not do what he was convicted of doing. This was done all while raising his fist to demonstrate his allegiance to the Black Lives Matter movement.
No matter what one may think of this whole saga, the most confusing wrinkle to what has recently transpired from this is that Smollett let the court know that he was not suicidal. A statement like that sounds like Smollett believes that he could potentially be killed while serving his prison sentence similar to Jeffrey Epstein, so he wanted to let everyone know if that happens, he didn't do it to himself. As dramatic as that sounds, Smollett doesn't seem to process that he's not being sent to a maximum-security penitentiary. He's being sent to county jail, a prison for lesser offenses, which is not only going to be a cakewalk, but since the sentence is only 150 days (and possibly less), he'll be out in no time.
It's safe to say that this outburst was not a good look for Smollett. If he wants to be adamant that he's innocent, he's within his rights to do that, but snapping like that after your sentencing is never a good idea regardless of whether you're innocent or not because it shows an extreme lack of maturity. Plus, at this point, who is Smollett trying to fool? It didn't take all that long for the true nature of the alleged hate crime to come to light, and once it did, the overwhelming evidence turned the public against him. It hasn't been swayed back to his side since then, and it never will be no matter what he does.
Special attention should be given to his claim that him not admitting his guilt a long time ago when he had the chance proves his innocence. Actually, Smollett, it's the opposite. With the clear-as-day evidence against you, the fact that you would rather face jail time, fines, potential lawsuits, and public backlash rather than just come clean makes you look both delusional and stupid. In all actuality, Smollett does not portray the image of a man championing social justice. Rather, he's portraying a spoiled manchild who never grew up, who wanted to enhance his celebrity status by any means necessary, and who still doesn't think he did anything wrong.
Empire can currently be streamed on Hulu.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter