Get the latest gossip

Jussie Smollett’s Hate Crime Hoax Conviction Overturned

The Illinois Supreme Court overturned Jussie Smollett's conviction for staging a hate crime against himself, citing a no-proseuction agreement.

The ruling was made on procedural grounds, going back to a decision by the Cook County State Attorney’s Office to drop the case against Smollett a few weeks after his original indictment, with the actor agreeing, in turn, to forfeit his $10,000 bail to the city. Smollett’s lawyer, Nene E. Euche, told Rolling Stone, “This was not a prosecution based on facts, rather it was a vindictive persecution and such a proceeding has no place in our criminal justice system. Smollett’s case dates back to 2019 when he went to police in Chicago claiming that two men assaulted him outside his apartment, put a noose around his neck, and called him racial slurs.

Get the Android app