Jussie Smollett and his partner reveal big news about their romance... six years after 'hate crime' hoax
Jussie Smollett announced he is engaged to partner Jabari Redd via Instagram on Friday.
The 43-year-old former Empire actor — whose 2021 conviction for allegedly faking a hate crime was overturned by the Illinois Supreme Court last year — shared the happy new with his 4.5 million followers in a joint post with his beau.
Posting photos from the moment he got down on one knee, he wrote, 'I'll be spending my birthday with my Fiancé… He said YES,' adding a diamond ring emoji.
The professional photos, snapped by @artbyalyx, showed the progression of Smollett presenting the ring, Redd's shocked expression, and the couple's subsequent embrace.
Jussie's sisters Jazz and Jurnee Smollett were among the many loved ones who offered congratulatory comments.
'Screaming with tears of joy! My whole heart loves both of you. @jussiesmollett. Welcome to the family @jabariredd. ❤️❤️,' wrote Jurnee, 38.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by @jussiesmollett
Older sibling Jazz, 45, added, 'Yaaaass!!! Welcome to the family Jabari!!! Love y'all!! Sooooo happy for you both!'
Meanwhile, his former TV mother Taraji P. Henson wrote, 'MY BABIES ❤️❤️❤️.'
The happy couple is fresh off their collaboration on the film The Lost Holliday, which premiered at the 28th annual American Black Film Festival in June 2024.
Starring Jabari, Jussie, Vivica A. Fox and more, it was released across select AMC theaters in September. This past May it was made available on Prime.
The project is the second project Smollett directed, following 2022's B-Boy Blues.
He told People last year, 'It's such a hopeful film.'
'I think that's what I really get from this film for my own life, is that it's so hopeful. It so, "Well, what is the next day going to be like? What is tomorrow going to bring me?"
'It could bring something great, it could bring you something not so great, but it's about what you do with [it].'
Jussie settled his 'hate crime hoax' with the city of Chicago in May, paying $50k to charity to resolve the six-year saga.
He was convicted in December 2021 for lying to police in 2019 about an alleged attack, during which he claimed two men beat him, yelled homophobic slurs and placed a noose around his neck while wearing MAGA hats.
The conviction was overturned last year due to a due process violation.
The City of Chicago's Law Department filed a civil lawsuit against him in 2019 to recover over $130,000 in costs incurred investigating his allegedly staged attack, after he failed to meet a city-imposed payment deadline.
The case, which had stretched over six years, was put to rest by both sides through a settlement.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
32 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Leonardo DiCaprio gets cozy with NYC's power crowd while dining at city's most exclusive restaurant
Leonardo DiCaprio was spotted breaking bread with political insiders and entertainment moguls in New York on Thursday. The actor, 50, dined at Rao's the legendary, ten-table East Harlem Italian joint where landing a seat is tougher than scoring an Oscar. According to Page Six, the A-lister sat down with Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman and entrepreneur Andrew Murstein, who hosted the gathering. DiCaprio's Wolf of Wall Street co-star Bo Dietl, ABC Radio's Sid Rosenberg, host of Sid and Friends in the Morning on 77WABC, New York's top-rated morning news talk show the actor's father George DiCaprio and his stepmother rounded out the party. 'Leo was extremely friendly and took a dozen photos with fans, and at least five video chats on FaceTime' with enthusiastic diners' friends and family members,' an Insider told Page Six. While the Titanic star drew plenty of attention, it was Blakeman who showed up with the muscle. 'A lot of security was there, but not for Leo. There were five security detail people for Blakeman,' the source added. During the hush-hush meal, guests reportedly overheard Blakeman pitching his vision to transform Nassau County into Hollywood East, citing the $533 million in economic impact generated by Grumman and Gold Coast Studios in Bethpage, where scenes from Wolf of Wall Street were filmed. Blakeman previously served as commissioner for the New York-New Jersey Port Authority, as well as a Nassau County legislator and Hempstead town councilman. Leo kept it casual for the occasion and sported a black shirt, beige jacket and a baseball cap accessorized with a gold chain. While the dinner was arranged through Murstein, even celebrities struggle to get through the door at Rao's. The 125-year-old Harlem hotspot doesn't accept walk-ins or reservations, and there's virtually no way to contact the restaurant unless you have an 'in'. The exclusivity is so extreme, one seat at Rao's recently hit $20,000 on the bidding site CharityBuzz. Menu prices at the famed eatery start around $16, with their signature beef lasagna coming in at $36 and their top-tier steak reaching $70, not including the sauces or sides. Other famous celebrities seen dining at Rao's include Al Pacino, Woody Allen, Frank Sinatra, Robert De Niro, Donald Trump, Pete Davidson, Kevin Costner, and Bethenny Frankel, among others. The exclusivity is so extreme, one seat at Rao's recently hit $20,000 on the bidding site CharityBuzz (Pictured: Pete Davidson attending Rao's Restaurant pop-up in February 2025 in New Orleans) While normally the preserve of the rich and famous, one man has managed to crack the code. Nicky DiMaggio, is a professional reservationist who charges $500 to $1,000 to get clients into New York's most exclusive restaurants - including Rao's. He first got into the restaurant at 17-years-old with help from a cousin and never looked back. 'I realized, if I walked through these doors, I could walk through any door,' he previouly told Daily Mail. Demand grew so much that DiMaggio launched his own business based on insider connections and impossible bookings. 'The whole reservation thing is a science,' he said. 'People want what they can't have. [Restaurants] want you to want it more and be frustrated that you can't secure a reservation.'
Daily Mail
39 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
JoJo Siwa makes shocking career move just one day after revealing she was 'pressured' to call herself a lesbian
JoJo Siwa cancelled her performance at Saturday's Pride celebration in Chicago. Back Lot Bash Chicago, the organization putting on the event, made the announcement early Saturday morning with a quick note in its Instagram Stories. 'Due to a scheduling conflict, JoJo Siwa will no longer be performing at Chicago's Back Lot Bash,' it read, without further explanation. The news comes one day after the Bulletproof singer, 22, who defines herself as queer, revealed to the Daily Mail that she felt pressured into calling herself a lesbian. 'When I came out at 17, I said: 'I'm pansexual, because I don't care [about gender]." But then I kind of boxed myself in and I said: 'I'm a lesbian.' And I think I did that because of pressure.' The Dance Moms alum has had several relationships with women since coming out in February 2021. 'In a weird way, I think [the pressure] came a little bit from inside the [LGBTQ] community at times. From people I know, from partners I've had,' she contended. 'You just get put in this world where you feel like, because you now have said, 'Oh, I'm a lesbian', you have to be a lesbian. And the truth is, sexuality is fluid.' Siwa met her current love interest, Chris Hughes, 32, while they were both competing on Celebrity Big Brother UK. The TV presenter defended Siwa after fellow contestant Mickey Rourke, 72, made homophobic comments. The two became friends, and then 'platonic soulmates' and then it developed into something more with the couple going public with their romance earlier this month. 'I'll just say that it took time. It took time away and then it took time together.' She now calls Hughes 'the favourite part of my life.' For those who think the liaison is just for PR, they couldn't be more wrong, the Guilty Pleasure singer told The Guardian. The cancellation came one day after Siwa revealed in an interview with Daily Mail that she felt pressured into identifying as a lesbian, even though she had originally come out as pansexual; Pictured in London on June 2 Siwa postponed the US leg of her tour earlier this month, hinting that more European dates might be added instead. The news comes amid the news Columbia Records had dropped her; Pictured in London in June 2024 'Clearly, you've never been around us. I won't ever speak for him, but for me personally, the happiness in my life just radiates off of me right now,' she told the outlet. 'Literally yesterday, I was massaging my cheeks; I've never [before] been in pain from smiling so much.' The Karma artist was set to return to the US next week for the American leg of her tour, but an announcement made on the website said the dates have been postponed, with those who bought tickets would receive a refund. She also teased that there would be more shows in Europe announced soon in a hint that she could be staying in the UK for longer. It comes just days after it was revealed JoJo has been dropped by record label Columbia just one year after being signed.
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom to have ‘make-or-break talks' after her weeks on tour as pair hit ‘rough patch'
KATY Perry and Orlando Bloom will have "make-or-break talks" in the coming weeks after a strained past few months, The U.S. Sun can report. Katy, 40, and Orlando, 48 - who share 4-year-old daughter Daisy - have been hit with rumors of a split six years after they announced their engagement. 5 5 The singer plans to fly from Australia, where she's been performing for her Lifetimes tour, to their Montecito, California home to spend the July 4 holiday with Orlando and family. Despite rumors the couple is totally over, a source said: "no one has decided it's definitely the end of the road for Katy and Orlando." "They both love each other, but they have been living different lives for at least a year and in different mindsets. "But Katy especially doesn't want to just give up," the source continued. After spending nearly all of June Down Under, Katy's last performance in Australia will be in Adelaide on June 30. She has a break until her July 10 date in Denver, Colorado. And after his U.S. press tour promoting Deep Cover with just dog Biggie Smalls, Orlando also appears to have some time off for Independence Day. Perry was "deeply rocked" by her comeback album 143 being critically panned, "despite putting her heart and soul into the project," the source claimed. She was also slammed for taking part in the Blue Origin space flight this spring. (According to a separate source, Orlando disagreed with her decision to take part in the Jeff Bezos-backed journey, though he and Daisy supported her for the takeoff in Texas.) And she has "struggled with being on the road" since April for her tour. Watch first video inside Blue Origin space trip as Katy Perry and crew hang upside down & marvel at the moon The preparation, rehearsals and traveling have caused the "biggest disruption" to the settled life she had as a partner to Orlando. The source said: "Katy and Orlando have been disconnected for a while now, and with their work commitments have been living separate lives. "The plan is for them to reunite over the July 4 break. She has mentioned jetting back from Australia to spend time with Orlando, Daisy, her sister Angela and her kids. "They have barely been together for a decent amount of time, without distractions, for many, many months. "It has been 'go, go, go' and they thrived when they enjoyed a more settled life, being together in the same place for a length of time. But that has just not happened." Katy Perry & Orlando Bloom's Relationship Timeline Fans have followed Katy and Orlando's relationship since it began in 2016. Here's a breakdown of their romance. The lovebirds met in January 2016 at a Golden Globes afterparty. That May, the pair made their relationship Instagram official. Katy and Orlando broke up in February 2017, which their reps confirmed after fans noticed they kept their distance at the Vanity Fair Oscars party. They reunited a year later on vacation in Prague. In September 2018, the duo made their red carpet debut at the Gala for the Global Ocean at the Opera of Monte-Carlo in Monaco. Orlando popped the question on Valentine's Day the following year. In March 2019, Orlando revealed he sold his home and had moved in with Katy. In March 2020, the couple announced they were expecting their first child together, whom they welcomed on August 26. Shortly before their daughter Daisy Dove's second birthday, Katy teased that she wanted to have more children with her fiance. In May 2024, Katy had fans convinced she was pregnant again when she posted a photo of her holding a positive pregnancy test. She followed with throwback photos and videos of her sharing the news of her first pregnancy. NEVER REALLY OVER Despite the obstacles, the source insisted Katy and Orlando have not totally called it quits. "It is quite a lot more complicated than that. They have been apart for their longest amount of time since they have been together. "But there is still a huge amount of love between them, and there is still hope that they can ride out this rough patch. "Anyone in long term relationships goes through challenges, and many times when things appear to be done, couples reconnect and make things work. "The type of people they are, there still remains a lot of hope. Katy has never been happier in her life than with Orlando. "If this reunion can revive those times, then they could come through this." 5 5
