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Jussie Smollett is maintaining his innocence ahead of the upcoming documentary.
And we probably don’t need to tell you that Smollett’s situation is still rather controversial.
He says that his story has never changed — and that he became an easy target for police and a distraction following the widespread viewing of the police murder of a Black teenager.
Actor Jussie Smollett attends the 2022 BET Awards at Microsoft Theater on June 26, 2022. (Photo Credit: Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images for BET)
Speaking to Variety, Jussie Smollett maintains his innocence — and his account of who the wrongdoers are — from the 2019 incident that sent his entire life into a tailspin.
“The villains are the two people who assaulted me, the Chicago Police Department and, if I may be so brave, the mayor,” the actor listed as the culprits.
Rahm Emanuel is deservedly infamous for many reasons.
And Smollett suggests that the authorities decided that it was a much more convenient narrative than to make him into a one-man false flag.
Empire actor Jussie Smollett leaves Cook County jail after posting bond on February 21, 2019. (Photo Credit: Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images)
“Could it be that they had just found out about the missing minutes and the missing tape from the murder of Laquan McDonald?” Smollett proposed. “Could it be that the mayor helped hide that?”
Jason Van Dyke, the CPD officer who shot McDonald in the back, ultimately served only three years and one month for the murder.
“We’re living in a world where the higher-ups, their main mission, in order to do all of the underhanded things that they’re doing, is to distract us with the shiny object,” Smollett commented.
Jussie Smollett attends the Fashion Trust U.S. Awards 2025 at The Lot at Formosa on April 08, 2025. (Photo Credit: Monica Schipper/Getty Images)
As many may recall, a pair of Nigerian-American brothers cooperated with the CPD, alleging that Jussie Smollett had enlisted them to “attack” him in a phony hate crime.
The actor declined to attack the brothers.
He does maintain that they did not attack him, and that his actual assailants remain at large.
“All I can say is, God bless you, and I hope it was worth it,” he commented on the brothers. “Every single other person’s story has changed multiple times. Mine has never. I have nothing to gain from this.”
Actor Jussie Smollett after his court appearance at Leighton Courthouse on March 26, 2019. (Photo Credit: Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images)
His comment about people in power is difficult to dispute, and not merely for our current political nightmare on the national level.
Initially, the charges against Smollett were dropped. Then, a year later, a special prosecutor refiled. Smollett received a conviction and a sentence.
The Illinois Supreme Court stepped in to reverse the lower court’s conviction.
Why? Because retrying him had, in this case, constituted a clear violation of Smollett’s due process rights.
Netflix is happy to let you set a reminder for the Jussie Smollett documentary. (Image Credit: Netflix)
The Netflix documentary on Jussie Smollett, which come out August 22, doesn’t promise to exonerate or convict the actor.
“To be honest with you, I don’t really know,” he admits when asked why exculpatory evidence has not emerged. “I’m not an investigative reporter or a detective. I can’t sit and tell you exactly, beat by beat, what happened.”
Smollett emphasized: “I can only tell you what did not happen. And what did not happen is the story that’s been out there for almost seven years, that somehow I would have even a reason to do something as egregious as this.”
Jussie Smollett Decries Real ‘Villains’ in Alleged Hoax Ahead of Netflix … was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.
Jussie Smollett is maintaining his innocence ahead of the upcoming documentary.
And we probably don’t need to tell you that Smollett’s situation is still rather controversial.
He says that his story has never changed — and that he became an easy target for police and a distraction following the widespread viewing of the police murder of a Black teenager.
Actor Jussie Smollett attends the 2022 BET Awards at Microsoft Theater on June 26, 2022. (Photo Credit: Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images for BET)
Jussie Smollett says that he knows who the real ‘villains’ are in his story
Speaking to Variety, Jussie Smollett maintains his innocence — and his account of who the wrongdoers are — from the 2019 incident that sent his entire life into a tailspin.
“The villains are the two people who assaulted me, the Chicago Police Department and, if I may be so brave, the mayor,” the actor listed as the culprits.
Rahm Emanuel is deservedly infamous for many reasons.
And Smollett suggests that the authorities decided that it was a much more convenient narrative than to make him into a one-man false flag.
Empire actor Jussie Smollett leaves Cook County jail after posting bond on February 21, 2019. (Photo Credit: Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images)
“Could it be that they had just found out about the missing minutes and the missing tape from the murder of Laquan McDonald?” Smollett proposed. “Could it be that the mayor helped hide that?”
Jason Van Dyke, the CPD officer who shot McDonald in the back, ultimately served only three years and one month for the murder.
“We’re living in a world where the higher-ups, their main mission, in order to do all of the underhanded things that they’re doing, is to distract us with the shiny object,” Smollett commented.
Jussie Smollett attends the Fashion Trust U.S. Awards 2025 at The Lot at Formosa on April 08, 2025. (Photo Credit: Monica Schipper/Getty Images)
‘I hope it was worth it’
As many may recall, a pair of Nigerian-American brothers cooperated with the CPD, alleging that Jussie Smollett had enlisted them to “attack” him in a phony hate crime.
The actor declined to attack the brothers.
He does maintain that they did not attack him, and that his actual assailants remain at large.
“All I can say is, God bless you, and I hope it was worth it,” he commented on the brothers. “Every single other person’s story has changed multiple times. Mine has never. I have nothing to gain from this.”
Actor Jussie Smollett after his court appearance at Leighton Courthouse on March 26, 2019. (Photo Credit: Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images)
His comment about people in power is difficult to dispute, and not merely for our current political nightmare on the national level.
Initially, the charges against Smollett were dropped. Then, a year later, a special prosecutor refiled. Smollett received a conviction and a sentence.
The Illinois Supreme Court stepped in to reverse the lower court’s conviction.
Why? Because retrying him had, in this case, constituted a clear violation of Smollett’s due process rights.
Netflix is happy to let you set a reminder for the Jussie Smollett documentary. (Image Credit: Netflix)
When does the Jussie Smollett Netflix documentary come out?
The Netflix documentary on Jussie Smollett, which come out August 22, doesn’t promise to exonerate or convict the actor.
“To be honest with you, I don’t really know,” he admits when asked why exculpatory evidence has not emerged. “I’m not an investigative reporter or a detective. I can’t sit and tell you exactly, beat by beat, what happened.”
Smollett emphasized: “I can only tell you what did not happen. And what did not happen is the story that’s been out there for almost seven years, that somehow I would have even a reason to do something as egregious as this.”
Jussie Smollett Decries Real ‘Villains’ in Alleged Hoax Ahead of Netflix … was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.