Jussie Smollett Conviction Overturned for False Hate Crime Claim

Jussie Smollet’s 2019 conviction for making a false hate crime claim has been overturned. Keep watching for the full story.

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The Illinois Supreme Court has overturned actor/singer Jussie Smollett’s conviction on allegations that he staged a racist and homophobic attack against himself in downtown Chicago and then lied to police in 2019. In 2021, the ‘Empire’ actor was convicted of five felony counts of disorderly conduct for allegedly staging a hate crime against himself and was sentenced to 150 days in county jail. Smollett has always maintained his innocence. He has testified that “there is no hoax.” We caught up with him in the studio earlier in September where he shared this:

Jussie Smollett:

It’s really about knowing who you are and being OK with that, and recognizing your flaws and acknowledging your flaws but not letting anyone else tell you who you are.

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That same month, the court heard an appeal that argued that a special prosecutor should not have been allowed to intervene after the Cook County State’s Attorney initially dropped charges.

But today, according to the Chicago Tribune, Smollett’s conviction has been overturned. Billboard received a statement from Special Prosecutor Dan K. Webb regarding the Illinois Supreme Court’s reversal of convictions and sentence of Jussie Smollett. “We respectfully disagree with the court’s factual and legal reasoning which upends long-standing Illinois precedent.”

We have also heard from Smollett’s lawyer Nenye Uche: “This was not a prosecution based on facts, rather it was a vindictive persecution and such a proceeding has no place in our criminal justice system. Ultimately, we are pleased that the rule of law was the big winner today. We are thankful to the Illinois Supreme Court for restoring order to Illinois’ criminal law jurisprudence.”

Stay tuned for more updates, here at Billboard News.