Jussie Smollett
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The conviction against Jussie Smollett for his orchestration of a hate crime against himself five years ago has been upheld by an Illinois court.
On Friday (December 1), the Illinois Appellate Court affirmed the disorderly conduct conviction of former Empire actor Jussie Smollett. The three-judge panel voted 2-1 to uphold the conviction. “We wish to highlight that the decision was divided, with Justice Lyle offering a detailed analysis in favor of Smollett,” lawyers representing Smollett said after the decision. “We are preparing to escalate this matter to the Illinois Supreme Court, armed with a substantial body of evidence.” The state Supreme Court will decide whether to hear the case. If they decide not to, Smollett is expected to fulfill the entire 150-day sentence he received in 2022. He had served six days before filing the appeal and obtaining his release.
In the decision, Judge David R. Navarro wrote that Jussie Smollett’s lawyers had challenged “virtually every aspect” of the case which included the process of selecting the jury, the appointment of a special prosecutor, and the sentence that Smollett’s lawyers said was excessive in their arguments. The legal team also argued that he was being tried for the same crime twice after Cook County prosecutors dropped the original charges, claiming it was a violation of his Fifth Amendment rights against double jeopardy.
Jussie Smollett would be convicted on five counts of disorderly conduct in 2021 on a set of new charges. He was indicted initially after claiming two men attacked him because he was Black and a gay man in January 2019 after arriving back at his Chicago residence and lying to police about it as a way to attain greater publicity. Smollett would be dropped from his role as Jamal Lyons on the Fox show amid the situation.
Justice Freddrenna Lyle dissented, citing that the state should not have re-tried Smollett after the prosecutors dropped the original charges. Special Prosecutor Dan Webb expressed that the decision was a “resounding victory for justice” after being handed down. “We are proud to have prevailed in a case that, we believe, can help restore the public’s confidence in the Cook County justice system,” Webb said to the press. “We hope this decision will reassure the community that our legal system is fair, just, and impartial.”
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Source: Scott Olson / Getty / Jussie Smollett
French actor Jussie Smolliét, aka Jussie Smollett, hilariously, and his hoodwinking and bamboozling of people into believing he was the victim of a racist, homophobic attack is still a thing. If the special prosecutor gets his way, he will return to jail.
Friday, December 1, an appeals court upheld the disorderly conduct convictions against the former Empire star for allegedly staging a racist, homophobic attack against himself in 2019 and lying about the whole ordeal to Chicago police.
Smollett, who once called himself the “Gay Tupac,” we’re not lying about that, challenged many aspects of the case, like the use of a special prosecutor, evidence, jury selection, and more.
But in a 2-1 opinion from the Illinois Appellate Court, his attempt to finally make it all go away was denied.
He will now have to finish the 150-day jail stint after only serving six days.
Smollett and his legal team plan to fight the decision, while the special prosecutor spoke for Smollett’s return to prison, and both said in statements shared by NBC News.
Per NBC News:
In a statement, a spokesperson for Smollett said they plan to fight the decision.
“We wish to highlight that the decision was divided, with Justice [Freddrenna] Lyle offering a detailed analysis in favor of Smollett. We are preparing to escalate this matter to the Supreme Court, armed with a substantial body of evidence,” the statement said.
The special prosecutor assigned to the case, Dan Webb, told NBC News in an interview hours after the court’s decision that Smollett should finish his 150 day jail sentence.
“This is pretty much the end of the road for Mr. Smollett,” Webb said. “Under Illinois law he has one right of appeal, that’s what he had today. The Illinois Appellate Court denied all his issues. He can try to go up to the higher court, the Illinois Supreme Court. That’s a discretionary appeal that would be determined if the Illinois Supreme Court wants to hear his issues. But if that doesn’t happen, then he’s hit the end of the road and he would shortly be in jail.”
Smollett’s legal teams continue to argue that the Gay actor/musician is a victim of “a racist justice system and people playing politics,” NBC News reports.
Webb counters that Smollett needs to adhere to the same standards as everyone else and that he respects his claim to innocence.
He believes Smollett did get a fair trial.
Welp.
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Photo: Scott Olson / Getty
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Jussie Smollett has kept himself busy in the wake of his ongoing criminal case in Chicago, but it appears the stress of the past few years is starting to affect his well-being. According to a new report, Jussie Smollett is entering a rehabilitation facility to gain some grounding as he continues to process and heal.
TMZ reports that Jussie Smollett, 41, will take time away from the public eye to get the necessary help he needs. The outlet obtained an exclusive quote from Smollet’s team explaining more.
From TMZ:
The rep tells us, “Jussie has had an extremely difficult past few years. He has quietly been working very hard for some time now and we are proud of him for taking these necessary steps.” We’re told Smollett is in an outpatient program.
Smollet’s last professional credit according to IMDB is serving as the producer and director for the 2021, B-Boy Blues.
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Photo: Getty
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Source: Aaron J. Thornton / Getty
Fox Nation, the streaming service for white-grievance-PornHub network Fox News, is giving documentary lovers what none of us asked for: Jussie Smollett: Anatomy of a Hoax.
That’s right, the streaming service for people who think the District of Columbia is a foreign land full of Mexicans is dredging up the hoax for which Smollett was convicted and sentenced to five months in jail after being accused of faking a fake hate crime by fake MAGA supporters in a fake version of where that’s a thing that’s likely to happen to a Black man in public in a Black-a** city in the dead of night.
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(I’m not saying definitively that he was lying, I’m just saying you can see why even a lot of Black people thought he was lying. It’s also worth mentioning that this docuseries is coming out as Smollett is appealing his conviction.)
From Deadline:
Set for March 13, the series will feature exclusive interviews with brothers Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo, who were part of an elaborate plot to perpetrate a staged hate crime on the Empire actor. They have apparently never spoken to the media about their role in the hoax.
Smollett continues to maintain his innocence.
“Anatomy of a Hoax takes a deep dive into a scam that reverberated through the worlds of entertainment, pop culture and politics,” said John Finley, the streaming platform’s Executive Vice President. “We’re excited for viewers to hear the real stories behind this scandal from the Osundairo brothers for the very first time.”
Now, if you’re wondering to yourself, “Who asked for this?” Well, for reference, Fox Nation also aired a Roseanne Bar standup special—a thing you only asked for if you’ve also requested Kid Rock to sing at your wedding-slash-family reunion-slash-baby gender reveal.
Anyway, Fox Nation says the docuseries “will chronicle the behind the scenes maneuvering and drama that turned the star into a pariah and sent shockwaves through Chicago and beyond, leaving a trail of damaged careers and reputations.” The platform added that the “Osundairo brothers will unravel the details from the planning of the fake crime, its execution and all that ensued in the aftermath.”
So, what do y’all think? Is this docuseries on your radar, or nah?
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