Jussie Smollett castmate Taraji P. Henson compared the convicted hate hoaxer to lynching victim Emmitt Till in an Instagram post with the hashtag "#FreeJussie."
The "Empire" star posted on to Instagram with the hashtag calling for Smollett's release. Smollett is reportedly being kept in Cook County Jail's psych ward.
"I am not here to debate you on his innocence," Henson wrote in the Instagram post Sunday, following Smollett's sentencing. "But we can agree that the punishment does not fit the crime. Emmett Till was brutally beat and ultimately murdered because of a lie, and none of the people involved with his demise spent one day in jail, even after Carolyn Bryant admitted that her claims were false."
"No one was hurt or killed during Jussie's ordeal. He has already lost everything, EVERYTHING! To me as an artist not able to create that in itself is punishment enough. He can't get a job. No one in Hollywood will hire him and again as an artist who loves to create, that is prison," Henson continued in the post.
"My prayer is that he is freed and put on house arrest and probation because in this case that would seem fair. Please #freejussie," Henson concluded.
Disgraced actor Smollett was sentenced Thursday to 150 days in Cook County jail, and 30 months of felony probation, as well as restitution of $120,106 and a $25,000 fine, following his high-profile conviction in December.
After receiving his sentence, Smollett broke out in shouts of "I am not suicidal. I am innocent." Smollett said in his lengthy courtroom outburst: "If I did this, that it means that I stuck my fist in the fears of black Americans in this country for over 400 years and the fears of the LGBTQ. Your Honor, I respect you and I respect the jury, but I did not do this and I am not suicidal. If anything happens to me when I go in there. I did not do it to myself. And you must all know that."
Smollett was set to undergo a mental health assessment after the meltdown. Sources told TMZ that Smollett believes he's only in jail because's he's black.
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