Jussie Smollett is getting all the way real about the aftermath of his infamous 2019 hate crime hoax and which celebs have been in his corner since.
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As we previously covered extensively, the former “Empire” star was convicted on five of six counts of disorderly conduct for making false reports in 2021, after the 16 original felony charges( that he allegedly staged a hate crime against himself ) were dropped. He was sentenced to 30-months of felony probation, 150-days in Cook County jail in Chicago, over $100,000 in restitution and a $25,000 fine. After only serving six days, he was released on bail pending his appeal which is still ongoing. Since then, Smollett has remained relatively out of the spotlight and has spent his time in rehab and working on his creative endeavors.
Now, he’s back and opening up about how he’s been dealing in the years since that infamous incident. Speaking to People as a part of the press run for his sophomore directorial debut, “The Lost Holliday,” Smollett said while he’s still “dealing with the repercussions from that narrative” that he staged a fake hate crime, the incident does not take up as much space internally anymore:
“It’s not in my mental and it’s not in my soul, it’s not in my spirit. People can say what they want about you, but they have no control. They can do whatever they want, they can even put you behind bars. They can control your physical, but they can’t control my mind. They can’t control my spirit. They can’t control my soul, and they can’t control the knowledge that I have of who I am.”
As it relates to the truth of what really happened all those years ago, Smollett shared that he isn’t too much concerned about making people believe him anymore and he’s confident that, in due time, the truth will come out for all to see.
“You can stuff it down, you could tie a block of cement to the truth, [but] the truth is always going to float to the top. It might take longer depending on what’s holding it down, but the truth will always float to the top,” he explained. “I’ve moved on and I know that the world, one day, and it might be long after I’m gone, who knows, but one day the world is going to fix this. I just can’t wait for that to happen, because I have a life to live. But the world is going to fix it all.”
In the meantime, Smollett is focusing on those around him who’ve been unwavering in their support, like his “aunt” Vivica A. Fox who stars in his new film alongside him. He also made mention of his former “Empire” costar Taraji P. Henson, of whom he described as a sister, his heart, and one of his favorite people who’s “been there for me from day one.”
However, there’s one relationship the “B-Boy Blues” star is holding out hope for and that’s the connection with his former boss and “Empire” creator Lee Daniels. As previously reported by The Root back in August, Daniels described his relationship with Smollett as “complicated” and admitted to still not knowing what to believe when it comes to his 2019 scandal.
Responding to Daniels’ comments in an interview with TMZ over the weekend, Smollett explained that he’ll “always be good” with Daniels but that it’s a situation he’d rather remedy in private.
“Lee is somebody that I love, he gave me an opportunity that I’m really grateful for but at the same time, it’s a relationship that’s really important to me. So I don’t feel the need to mediate that in public,” he explained. “I feel like it’s a private—he really is someone, a relationship that’s important to me so, you know. Lee is also a little bit more of an open book, so he’ll say things. I love him so much and he knows that. And I know that he loves me. We’re always gonna be good...I will always be good with that man, he gave me an opportunity and there’s no going back on that.”
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