(Photo Credits: Screengrab from NBC News’ YouTube Account)
In a recent turn of events, ‘Empire’ actor Jussie Smollett’s charges have been dropped by the Chicago prosecutors. Records for the case were “immediately sealed” and are being expunged from Smollett’s records. The news broke out after his “emergency court appearance” in Chicago court Tuesday morning.
A spokesman for Cook County State’s Attorney Kimberly Foxx said, “After reviewing all of the facts and circumstances of the case, including Mr. Smollet’s volunteer service in the community and agreement to forfeit his bond to the City of Chicago, we believe this outcome is a just disposition and appropriate resolution to this case.”
According to CNBC, “The dismissal means that records of the case will be sealed to public view.” They added that, “There was no plea deal that led to the dismissal of charges.”
Watch Smollett’s statement below.
His lawyers said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday:
“Today, all criminal charges against Jussie Smollett were dropped and his record has been wiped clean of the filing of this tragic complaint against him. Jussie was attacked by two people he was unable to identify on January 29th. He was a victim who was vilified and made to appear as a perpetrator as a result of false and inappropriate remarks made to the public causing an inappropriate rush to judgment.”
The statement continued, “Jussie and many others were hurt by these unfair and unwarranted actions. This entire situation is a reminder that there should never be an attempt to prove a case in the court of public opinion. That is wrong. It is a reminder that a victim, in this case Jussie, deserves dignity and respect. Dismissal of charges against the victim in this case was the only just result. Jussie is relieved to have this situation behind him and is very much looking forward to getting back to focusing on his family, friends and career.”
Smollett, 36, was charged with 16 felony counts of disorderly conduct last March 8, 2019 for allegedly staging a fake racist and homophobic hate crime attack on himself.
Naturally, the netizens weighed in on the latest turn of events. Check out what they are saying below:
Nothing gets the right fired up more than seeing a black guy not go to jail. #JussieSmollett
— Rob (@tescovee) March 26, 2019
I told y’all #JussieSmollett was innocent. I also told y’all I believed him and today well…..yall know.
— Assisting the Witcher (@A_LegoBlockHead) March 26, 2019
Definitely more than meets the eye here. Chicago corruption at the prosecutor level! Chicago police superintendent didn’t know this was taking place. Unbelievable #JussieSmollett
— Diane (@DianeNoMoreLies) March 26, 2019
I want ya to have the same energy … spread this like you did the hate .. @JussieSmollett charges have been dropped .. I’m still standing for my #JussieSmollett pic.twitter.com/dWNzwhQRL9
— Kay Queen (@kiki_king) March 26, 2019
Chances are the charges were dropped because the persecutor couldn’t get enough evidence and testimony to substantiate. & I’m sure @Chicago_Police messed up when they attempted to prove a case in the court of public opinion, vilifying him before a trial/verdict. #JussieSmollett
— jai. 🥀🇭🇹 (@itmeans_ilove) March 26, 2019
The #JussieSmollett case never made sense to me on either side. Someone did wrong here and hurt the AA and LGBT communities….we may never know who. “Illinois prosecutors drop all charges against ‘Empire’ actor Jussie Smollett” – Chicago Tribune https://t.co/9SSTAQ3net
— Ben Marker (@BenjiMarker) March 26, 2019
I hope all the losers who were betting on him going down will enjoy eating their own shit. I will enjoy watching… not to be kinky since that scene thoroughly repulses me. Lol
Yes, there was a hate-fest over at Queerty – makes me question exactly who IS their target audience. PinkNews isn’t much better.
I’ve been attacked by trans-claiming individuals who seemed “inauthentic” … as if haters impersonate trans individuals on-line to divide us. I’ve known and worked with trans individuals so I know a thing or two… these on-line persons just seemed a bit too hateful and sensitive to actually be queer.
Obviously you don’t know that all the evidence shows without ANY doubt he lied. But as a racist, you clearly don’t care about facts do you?!
Political Correctness wins again… Michael Jackson found not guilty, O. J. Simpson found not guilty, no charges for tax evasion filed against Sharpton, Jesse Jackson not censured for antisemitic remarks, a former president’s spiritual advisor (Jeremiah Wright) magically disappears from media coverage, and now Jussie Smollett will no longer face charges for manufacturing a fake hate crime which will adversely affect how *real* hate crimes are pursued and perceived. The message which is being conveyed is that African Americans will be held to different standards, as long as they are famous enough to make accountability look like racism.
“Jussie Smollett will no longer face charges ..” Jussie and his career can’t quite just nicely walk away yet Two matters are still up in the air: the FBI is still looking into the letter that was sent and there’s no word yet on their investigation into the Clinton/Obama representative’s contact with the Prosecutor, Kim Foxx. His decision to make the $10,000/Community Service deal is not a clean ending. He’s far from out of the muck.
It doesn’t really matter that the folks you mentioned are African-American. In this country all that seems to count is your wealth. So. . . It’s RICH people who consistently get off, regardless of their race.
There’s some irony when a blogger like Davey (an Internet writer) likes to call out commenting “netizens” (avid users of the Internet) as though it’s a bad thing. One netizen writes, the rest of the netizens comment… duh. And for those who think this is some kind of exoneration… this case was settled. “After reviewing all of the facts and circumstances of the case, including Mr. Smollett’s volunteer service in the community and agreement to forfeit his bond to the City of Chicago, we believe this outcome is a just disposition and appropriate resolution to this case,” a statement from… Read more »
So Smollet paid 100,000 bond to have the charges dropped and the proceedings sealed.
Good deal since 16 charges would have landed him in jail for a long time.
The city keeps the money and avoids the cost of a lengthy trial and the costs of incarceration
He should count his blessings. Go back and hide in the closet. Another one of Hollywood’s own getting away with breaking the law. I hope he is a has been.
He essentially paid $100,000 to buy his “innocence.” Just goes to show money is everything.
Sorry, I misread my source. It was $10,000 not $100,000.
Ha ha, Where are all the comments now? Where did you go homophobic drama Queens? (Yep, that’s right, I’m asking about you Hunter0500, Matt, Tim, Jim, & Edward). I took a break off here because I was tired of drama created by the guys who should be the ones who understand what it means to be gay. Instead I come back to read weeks worth of those same guys’ messages, filled with negative stereotypes compiled about those who actually are doing things in the real world. What was it you said Hunter0500, back in the second week of March 2019,… Read more »
Dave/RANTTRAP, Jussie paid $10,000 and will do Community Service. If he was innocent, he would have proven so in court. He has admitted his own guilt. The fish in the barrel has been shot. Noticeable too is that almost 24 hours later, supportive politicians and supportive celebrities have been silent. If they believed him innocent, they’d have been all over the media by now.
Hunter0500/Homophobe5000: Apparently YOU missed INNOCENT until PROVEN GUILTY lessons in school. Not Jussie’s burden, definitely NOT yours … If you were facing a charge you absolutely were innocent of (say the charge was being Kind, Respectful, and Considerate in posts here) even though ALL of us knew you were absolutely innocent of the charges, you might make a plea because it is not worth the chance you could be found guilty and have others believe you are decent. Even if you got Fox News to weigh in more times than you do on any single given subject, it still wouldn’t… Read more »
this is a real win for transparency in justice
now Jussie will be free to go door to door in Chicago, never resting until he finds the real attackers
I think the brothers are the attackers from what I hear in the press conference….not 100% sure though….
What a waste of time and horrible for actual hate crime victims.
The guy’s a lying rat. They say Camilla Harris is his Aunt. The police had a slam dunk case. He’s still facing Federal charges, and with luck, he goes all the way down the rat hole.
He has paid $10,000. If innocent, who pays $10,000? And the case is “sealed”. Isn’t this where “no comment” should be said? But then he stood outside the courthouse where he and his attorney insisted he was innocent and had been exonerated, afterwhich he took pictures with fans. Something is again just not quite right.
ahaha I was waiting for your comment. He is innocent. 10,000$ is nothing. He just wanted to move on with his career. I think it was clear in the press conference.
You seem to miss the point. It’s not the amount that’s relevant. People who are not culpable are not made to forfeit their bond (fined); instead, the charges are dropped and their bond is returned to them. Smollett may be legally innocent in the eyes of the law, but that surely doesnt make him factually innocent. If you can’t see that, you are blind. Oh, let me save you the effort of a brilliant reply, Davey: “Meh.”
meh 🙂
Jussie is a disgrace to the gay community
No. People like you who fall for the right wing bullshit are. I’m sure he had a lot of treacherous bitches turn on him despite the many fallacies in the case against him because you all are sheep minded and since everybody “seemed” to believe he was guilty you went along with that. If everyone thought he was innocent, you would have gone along with that. Groupthink is all that matters. You silly queens don’t even believe in innocent until proven guilty, for another gay man of all people, but you insist he makes it harder for “real” victims. Um… Read more »
More steaming bs on top of steaming bs. He’s got beady eyes. The big question is, does he still have a career? Big payoffs? You betcha. But to whom?
As a black man, I am so happy. It’s about good fuckin time. I haven’t felt this good since OJ got away with murder. Gays and black all over should feel good. This getting off with a slap on the risk been going on for years and years and years for White people. I’m not prejudices. I have a white son in law and white daughter in law that I love as my own. From these unions, I’m blessed with 5 interracial grandkids that I love more than life itself….He didn’t kill or hurt no one. Put real black criminals… Read more »
Hey Marcus, there isn’t anything to jail Trump for!! In the same way that you view this dropping of charges as exonerating of Smollett, the Mueller report not recommending any additional prosecutions must therefore be equally exonerating of Trump, right? Conversely, to use your distorted measure of justice, Smollett should have been charged because “so many think he did it.” Or do you only choose to drive one-way streets?
Devyn, “distorted measure of justice” is the only thing that don’t sit well with me in your comment. I didn’t create these unfair justice practices. I want to respect our system. I spoke of my grandkids in my response. I want them to grow up in a fair judiciary system with all my heart, no perfect but fair. I don’t give a darn about Smollett or Trump. I was born in the fifties and had the honor to spend time with my great grandmom who was born in 1895. She use to babysitt me. She was very articulate in her… Read more »
Oh Marcus, please tell me you don’t really feel that way, because if you do, then our justice system HAS failed. Just because the RICH get off ‘with a slap on their wrist’ doesn’t have anything to do with race or ethnicity, and YES that is unjust, because Lady Justice is SUPPOSED to be blind to these inequities. Equity – freedom from bias or favoritism IS the way it is supposed to be. OJ purchased the legal dream team, and while not criminally found guilty, he has paid all his spoils civilly … so no win there. Cosby had accusations… Read more »
Hunter, I hope you’re right.. I want to see Donald Trump get impeached so that things can get back to normal..My Mom use to always say “whatever you do in the dark, eventually will come out in the light”.
I don’t think he’s innocent, though, where’s the white dudes who supposedly did this? Exactly!!! I blame the law for this, because the law itself, is so corrupted, two wrongs will never, ever, make right, if the law, in the beginning, had been carried out “righteously” vs, “racist,” this never, would have happened! And actually, this is just what white America, historically, has been afraid of/nightmares for the longest time, black men: “obtaining enough capital, to buy their innocence getting away with crime the like we white men do.” Dominion! We, just keep seeing what the country, really, is not,… Read more »
Smollett is the new face of racism, anti-gay, hate crimes. He is so gross!
When I first heard about his attack, I thought he was a 100% victim. When I heard that he was part of some scheme, I didn’t want to believe it. However, looking at the actual facts and this “exoneration”, I don’t feel that he was innocent. Even the State’s Attorney’s office believe that he fabricated this hoax based on factual evidence, not opinion. Wealthy famous people get away with bad behavior. The police know who did the crimes, but yet they are not in jail? No one is accountable for a supposed attack? How would that be justice for Smollet?… Read more »
well, sir, I am sorry to say, your faith is misplaced. He is guilty as they come. It is a shame that we tolerate this behavior. This should be the end of him, but it won’t be. And sadly, there will be other copy cat crimes that will diminish the victims of the real hate crimes. But he has no shame and now has shifted the blame. We should all forget his name. WOW that rhymed, I should be a rapper.
Smollett is as innocent as Satan!
BREAKING: Jussie Smollett to team up with O.J. Simpson to find the REAL Attackers!!
On a serious note, would this be considered Gay Privilege, Black Privilege or just grimy Chicago Politics? Just curious…
BREAKING NEWS: PRESIDENT soooooo busy repealing health care, and doing victory laps (after not being officially indicted in Mueller probe) that he will take a break from Golfing and Self Promoting Pep Rallies to disgruntle tweet about Jussie. He, AND THIS IS REAL PEOPLE, just tweeted that he has asked the DOJ and FBI to look into the Smollett case. Mind you now, ‘our boi Putin’ says he did not hack our 2016 election, and WE BELIEVE COMRADE PUTIE OVER OUR OWN DOJ AND FBI, but wittle Jussie is now the big news story, and Tweeter-in-chief-Don-the-Con is gonna ask those… Read more »
I swear there is a gang of online posers.. masquerading as people of the community.
The DOJ is coming after his race-baiting ass.
It’s so easy to read the wild, biased headlines and go “oh yeah”; and that’s what Smollett, his family, the DA, Obama’s chief of staff and every celebrity want you to do.
Everyone talks about empowerment- you are empowered to read the actual police reports, when the City of Chicago PD really wanted to help prove to the public that they can solve crime in their city. They worked very hard to come up with the truth, but the prosecutors (a totally different branch of government), well connected with celebrities, had a different path.
See for yourself- https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-jussie-smollett-chicago-police-case-file-20190327-htmlstory.html
Crikey. If there were any doubts about the corruption of the Chicago political machine, this lays them to rest.
[…] staging a fake racist and homophobic hate crime attack on himself. However, these charges were dropped by Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s office last March 26, 2019. The decision came […]
[…] staging a fake racist and homophobic hate crime attack on himself. However, these charges were dropped by Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s office last March 26, 2019. The decision came after […]
Only in a corrupt city run by corrupt Democrats do criminals get away with just about anything. For 6 decades, Chicagos government has been saturated with Democrats and just like every other city run by these mobsters it’s turned to shit. Smollet lied. Racist allowed to falsely accuse and waste police resources for a photo opp. Because Obama wants chaos, the Chicago DA fights against law abiding people and turns scum loose. Got to vote out every last Democrat before we end up like Venezuela