Jussie Smollett posts bizarre Instagram screed proclaiming innocence and insisting he suffered hate crime attack
Hate crime hoaxer Jussie Smollett went on a bizarre Instagram rant in which he repeated his widely-debunked claim that he was the victim of a bias attack in the wake of his cushy settlement in his civil suit with the city of Chicago.
'Over six years ago, after it was reported I had been jumped, City Officials in Chicago set out to convince the public that I willfully set an assault against myself. This false narrative has left a stain on my character that will not soon disappear,' Smollett wrote on Instagram Saturday.
'These officials wanted my money and wanted my confession for something I did not do. Today, it should be clear…They have received neither.'
Advertisement
3 Hate crime hoaxer Jussie Smollett went on a bizarre Instagram rant on Saturday.
FilmMagic
Smollett was convicted in 2021 for staging a phony hate crime against himself in Chicago in 2019, and was later sued by the Second City for $130,000 for the cost of the investigation into the bogus claims.
The 'Mighty Ducks' actor and the Windy City have now settled their suit — with Smollett agreeing to donate $60,000 to two Chicago-based charitable organizations in lieu of paying the city.
Advertisement
The 42-year-old will donate $50,000 to nonprofit Building Brighter Futures Center for the Arts and 'an additional' $10,000 to the Chicago Torture Justice Center, according to the Instagram post.
With this legal win on top of the shock overturning of his five felony charges by the Illinois Supreme Court— the 'Empire' actor is now celebrating what he called his 'innocence.'
'However, despite arduous and expensive attempts to punish me, I am innocent in the eyes of God and our criminal justice system,' Smollett wrote in the post.
'I will continue creating my art, fighting passionately for causes I hold dear and defending my integrity and family name with the truth,' he continued.
Advertisement
3 Jussie Smollett was sentenced to five months behind bars after being convicted of staging a hate crime against himself.
via REUTERS
3 A still image from surveillance video on January 2019 showed two men who Smollett allegedly staged the phony hate crime with.
REUTERS
'To everyone who has supported me, thank you. Your prayers and belief in me mean more than words can properly express,' he wrote, concluding, 'With Love & Respect, Jussie Smollett.'
Despite Smollett's crowing over his legal success in the Illinois State Supreme Court, state officials claim that the overturning of the conviction did not mean the 'Alien: Covenant' actor was telling the truth.
Advertisement
'Make no mistake: Today's ruling has nothing to do with Mr. Smollett's innocence,' special prosecutor Dan Webb said in a statement at the time.
'The Illinois Supreme Court did not find any error with the overwhelming evidence presented at trial… or the jury's unanimous verdict that Mr. Smollett was guilty of five counts of felony disorderly conduct,' Webb stated.
The charges were overturned on Fifth Amendment rights violation, as Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx decided to drop the charges against Smollett after he was initially hit with 16 felony counts stemming from the bogus hate crime police report.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
37 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Cellcom users in Door County were unable to call 911 to report a camper fire
A camper owner and a local Door County fire chief were repeatedly unable to contact emergency services by calling 911 through their Cellcom service provider during efforts to extinguish a camper fire May 27. Cellcom says 911 service should have been working as it continues to recover from a cyberattack that shut down most of its phone services since May 14. Southern Door Fire Department Chief Rich Olson said he received a call at about 12:20 a.m. May 27 from the owner of a property on County J in the town of Clay Banks, who knew Olson's personal cellphone number, about the camper fire. "(The property owner) told me (the camper owner) attempted to call 911 four times but could not get through," Olson said. After being told of the fire, Olson then tried calling 911 himself through his phone but also couldn't make contact. He said he then used the department's nonemergency paging system to dispatch responders to the scene of the fire. The camper owner's and Olson's phones use Cellcom, whose customers have been the victims of outages since the night of May 14 following what is now being reported as a cyberattack. Cellcom customers generally have been able to call other Cellcom users but not users of other phone service carriers. Cellcom and its parent company, Howard-based Nsight, issued a Facebook post May 19 that said 911 calls made through Cellcom were working, as well as SMS texts, internet service, other communication apps such as WhatsApp and calls to other Cellcom users. Customers continued to have difficulty making calls to non-Cellcom phone lines, although a May 27 update on the company website said, "Services, including both inbound and outbound calling and text messaging, are performing well for most customers following recent restoration efforts." It also said problems may crop up intermittently as stabilization of the system continues, and those having problems should try rebooting their phones before contacting customer support. In a statement issued following the camper fire, Cellcom didn't directly address the claims of being unable to call 911 but said it followed protocols from the federal government to maintain 911 access by rerouting those calls to other networks in case of an outage. "We are sorry to hear about the recent camper fire incident," the statement said. "There are longstanding, industry-wide federal protocols in place to protect access to 911 during any carrier-specific outage. These protocols ensure that emergency calls are rerouted through other available networks during any carrier outage. We followed those protocols in full and our systems remained in compliance since the outage began." Cellcom did not immediately respond to the Door County Advocate if the company was looking into the matter, or planning to do so. The camper is a total loss, and it's not known what started the fire. The owner, who asked not to be identified, said the camper, a new one he has owned for about a month and a half, was unoccupied and nothing was plugged in at the time. He said even if his first 911 call had connected, he thinks the camper would've been a total loss because it was engulfed by flames already. The owner said responders arrived within minutes, and Olson said five Southern Door firetrucks and 14 firefighters were on hand to fight the blaze for about an hour, with an assist from the Brussels-Union-Gardner Fire Department. Although the camper owner feels a successful 911 call wouldn't have saved the camper, both he and and Olson said they were disappointed the system failed them when they needed it. "My understanding is, it should have worked," Olson said. "It's disappointing that the 911 system didn't work. I hope (the outage is) resolved pretty soon." Contact Christopher Clough at 920-562-8900 or cclough@ MORE: Popular Door County performer raising funds for first new album in years MORE: Former Sister Bay health care building is now a small business center FOR MORE DOOR COUNTY NEWS: Check out our website This story was updated to add new information. This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Cellcom users in Door County unable to call 911 to report a fire
Yahoo
44 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Red's historic four-try half dents Drua on finals eve
A historic four-try first half from winger Lachie Anderson ensured no hiccups for the Queensland Reds against the Fijian Drua in a soggy Super Rugby Pacific finals warm-up. Anderson scored three times inside 10 minutes while the Drua were a man down in the first half, then added another before the main break to set a new mark for the Reds in a 52-5 Saturday win. He's only the third Australian to score four tries in a Super Rugby game, after Joe Roff in 1996 and Drew Mitchell in 2010. The man is UNSTOPPABLE 🥵What a performance from Lachie Anderson!#SuperRugbyPacific #REDvDRU — Super Rugby Pacific (@SuperRugby) May 31, 2025 Most were handed to Anderson on a platter, especially a neat cross-field kick from clinical flyhalf Tom Lynagh for his fourth. But the haul was just reward for a fine season from the former rugby sevens and Melbourne Rebels recruit. Anderson did his best to keep his starting berth for Friday's sudden death quarterfinal in Christchurch against the Crusaders, a match-up that had already been locked in before the fifth-placed Reds took the field on Saturday. Test centre Josh Flook also scored in his confident return from a long-term hamstring injury, but the red-hot Filipo Daugunu will surely start in the centres or on a wing next week after coming off the bench on Saturday night and scoring a late try. Joe Brial completed the rout with a try on the full-time siren. There were concerns for Wallabies skipper Harry Wilson though, who returned from a fractured arm last week but left the field later in the second half on Saturday seemingly in pain. The Suva-based Drua won four games on home soil, including their clash with the Reds, but weren't able to muster a victory on the road as they finished second-last in their fourth campaign. They had themselves to blame after an encouraging start, with Iosefa Masi yellow carded for up-ending Jock Campbell in the ruck and then Etonia Waqa binned in the second half for taking out Tim Ryan's legs in the air. Haereiti Hetet scored their sole try while hooker Tevita Ikanivere, in his 50th game for the fledgling Drua, was denied from a trick play from the lineout. He charged through two would-be tacklers only to be sent into touch by a flying Lynagh, who again showed defensive grit to go with offensive flourish.
News24
an hour ago
- News24
Cobra's legacy lives on: Presley Chweneyagae's most viral moments on ‘The River'
TV Mzansi Africa/Instagram Be among those who shape the future with knowledge. Uncover exclusive stories that captivate your mind and heart with our FREE 14-day subscription trial. Dive into a world of inspiration, learning, and empowerment. You can only trial once. Start your FREE trial now
