Jussie Smollett

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Jussie Smollett Leaves Rehab, Looks to Uncertain Future

He could be attending movie premiere, or he could be in jail

(Newser) - Jussie Smollett is apparently turning over a new leaf. The former Empire star who's waiting to hear whether the Illinois Supreme Court will hear the appeal of his 2021 disorderly conduct conviction for his false reporting of an alleged hate crime, just wrapped up a five-month stint in rehab...

Appeals Court Delivers Its Decision to Jussie Smollett

Illinois judges uphold actor's conviction on hate crime hoax; he'll appeal to state Supreme Court

(Newser) - It's bad news for Jussie Smollett , the former Empire actor who was found guilty in 2021 of disorderly conduct for filing a false police report about an alleged hate crime against him in Chicago. An Illinois appeals court on Friday upheld his conviction, and his five-month jail sentence, after...

Smollett Wins His Release Pending Appeal
Jussie Smollett Freed
Pending Appeal
UPDATED
Mar 16, 2022 9:46 PM CDT

Jussie Smollett Freed Pending Appeal

Actor released on personal recognizance

(Newser) - This story has been updated with additional details. Jussie Smollett was released from jail Wednesday following six nights behind bars after an appeals court agreed with his lawyers that he should be free pending the appeal of his conviction for lying to police about a racist and homophobic attack. The...

Smollett After His Sentencing: 'I Am Innocent!'

Former 'Empire' actor gets 150 days, says he's not suicidal in case something happens in jail

(Newser) - (Update: This summary has been updated throughout.) Jussie Smollett loudly maintained his innocence Thursday after a judge sentenced the former Empire actor to 150 days in jail for lying to police about a racist and homophobic attack that he was convicted of orchestrating himself. Cook County Judge James Linn...

Untouched Sandwich Made Cops Suspicious of Smollett

Police thought it odd he still had it with him after alleged assault

(Newser) - Jussie Smollett has been convicted of making up a story about being assaulted in Chicago, and a Subway sandwich seems to have played a role in why police questioned his account. The revelation comes from Eddie Johnson, who served as Chicago's police chief when the Smollett incident took place...

Actor Found Guilty for False Hate Crime Report
Smollett Convicted on 5 Counts
Dec 9, 2021 6:25 PM CST

Smollett Convicted on 5 Counts

Jury decides actor invented tale about being a victim of a hate crime

(Newser) - A Chicago jury convicted Jussie Smollett on Thursday of falsely reporting that he was the victim of a hate crime in 2019. The former Empire actor was convicted of five charges and acquitted of one, NBC reports. Smollett showed no reaction as he stood facing the jury and heard the...

Smollett Says Witnesses Demanded $2M From Him

Defense has rested its case

(Newser) - Jussie Smollett took the stand for a second day in his trial in Chicago Tuesday and leveled an accusation at the prosecution's two star witnesses. The former Empire actor said brothers Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo—who testified last week that Smollett had hired them to stage a hate crime...

Jussie Smollett: 'There Was No Hoax'

He says he had sexual relationship with key witness

(Newser) - Jussie Smollett took the stand in his defense in the fifth day of his trial in Chicago Monday—and he strongly denied staging a hate crime against himself in early 2019. Last week, brothers Abimbola and Olabingo Osundairo—nicknamed "Bola" and "Ola"—testified that the former Empire...

As Trial Opens, Lawyer Says 'Jussie Smollett Is Real Victim'

Defense paints brothers who allegedly attacked Smollett as liars

(Newser) - Jussie Smollett “is a real victim” of a “real crime,” his attorney said as the ex-Empire actor's trial started Monday, rejecting prosecutors’ allegation that he staged a homophobic and racist attack in Chicago after the television studio where he worked didn’t take hate mail he...

Jussie Smollett Trial Starts Today
Jussie Smollett
Trial Starts Today
Nov 29, 2021 12:01 AM CST

Jussie Smollett Trial Starts Today

Nearly 3 years after his alleged attack made headlines

(Newser) - Nearly three years after actor Jussie Smollett claimed he was the victim of a hate crime attack on the streets of Chicago, the openly gay Black actor is going on trial on charges that he faked the whole thing. Smollett, who did not appear on the final season of Empire...

Smollett Insists Attack Was No Hoax
Jussie
Smollett
Is Going
to Trial
UPDATED
Oct 17, 2021 3:00 PM CDT

Jussie Smollett Is Going to Trial

Judge refuses to dismiss case

(Newser) - Update: Jussie Smollett is going to trial. The actor was accused of faking an attack on himself in January 2020 in Chicago, faced charges which were dropped, then charged again in February 2020. Smollett pleaded not guilty to six counts of felony disorderly conduct. His lawyers also tried to have...

Review Finds Fault With Prosecutor in Smollett Case

Investigation reveals abuses of discretion but no crimes

(Newser) - A special prosecutor in Chicago said Monday that Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx and her office repeatedly abused their discretion and made false public statements in the case against actor Jussie Smollett last year, but he concluded they did nothing criminal. In his findings released after a monthslong...

Key Witnesses in Jussie Smollett Case Say They're Out

Brothers are fed up with police hold on personal items

(Newser) - The two brothers who admitted to helping Jussie Smollet stage a fake hate crime are no longer cooperating with prosecutors. That's according to a letter from the brothers' lawyer, obtained by the Chicago Tribune , which reports the development stems from a police raid on the home of Abimbola "...

Same Courthouse, Same Plea for Jussie Smollett

Actor pleads not guilty to restored charges

(Newser) - Former Empire actor Jussie Smollett pleaded not guilty Monday to restored charges that accuse him of staging a racist, homophobic attack against himself last year in Chicago and falsely reporting to police that the phony attack was real. His lawyer, Tina Glandian, entered the not guilty pleas on his behalf...

Jussie Smollett Hit With New Charges

Grand jury returns 6-count indictment accusing actor of lying to Chicago police

(Newser) - A grand jury returned a six-count indictment accusing actor Jussie Smollett of lying to Chicago police, a special prosecutor announced Tuesday. The charges stem from Smollett's assertion that he was the target of a racist and homophobic attack in January 2019. Special prosecutor Dan Webb issued a statement announcing...

Smollett Takes Gifts to Flint
Jussie Smollett
Donates to Flint KIDS
Dec 25, 2019 11:05 AM CST

Jussie Smollett Donates to Flint KIDS

Actor takes toys and backpacks

(Newser) - Jussie Smollett has played Santa to Michigan children, surprising students at a school in Flint with toys and backpacks. The embattled actor made the deliveries with Mari Copeny, an activist known as Little Miss Flint, TMZ reports. Smollett also gave $10,000 to the Flint KIDS program.

This Is What We Googled Most in 2019
The 10 Most-Googled
Terms of the Year
Dec 11, 2019 10:20 AM CST

The 10 Most-Googled Terms of the Year

Disney Plus tops the list, and yes, 'Baby Yoda' makes an appearance on a sub-list

(Newser) - What did Americans want to know about this year? Google is letting us know via its annual list of the most-searched-for terms in the US:
  1. Disney Plus : Disney's addition to the ever-growing list of streaming services tops the list for 2019.
  2. Cameron Boyce : The Disney Channel star was found
...

Jussie Smollett Saga Takes Yet Another Turn

Former 'Empire' actor files counterclaim against city of Chicago

(Newser) - The latest in the Jussie Smollett legal saga: The former Empire actor has countersued Chicago after the city sued him in April in an attempt to recoup the cost of the police investigation into what authorities say was a hoax attack staged by the actor in January. Smollett had already...

Trump: Jussie Smollett 'Scam' Is Just Like Impeachment 'Scam'

President speaks to police conference in Chicago

(Newser) - Jussie Smollett's claim that attackers yelling "MAGA country" beat him up in Chicago was "a scam"—just like the impeachment inquiry surrounding President Trump, Trump says. The POTUS was in Chicago Monday speaking at the International Association of Chiefs of Police conference, and he had this...

Smollett to Cops: Not My Fault You Spent So Much

Lawyers attempt to toss lawsuit from city of Chicago

(Newser) - Jussie Smollett's legal team says "it's ridiculous and a stretch" to make him pay Chicago $130,000 to cover the cost of the police investigation into his alleged attack in January, reports the Chicago Sun-Times . "The filing of a police report, in and of itself, does...

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