Jussie Smollett maintains innocence after 6 years, blames Chicago officials ahead of Netflix doc

Actor Jussie Smollett is speaking out on the 2019 hate crime hoax case, insisting his account “has never” changed and portraying himself as the victim of a conspiracy involving Chicago officials.

“The villains are the two people who assaulted me, the Chicago Police Department and, if I may be so brave, the mayor,” Smollett told Variety, referencing former Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who led the city from 2011 to 2019.

Smollett is attempting to revive his career with a Netflix documentary titled “The Truth About Jussie Smollett?,” set to debut on August 22. The film includes an interview with the former “Empire” star.

Smollett has reiterated his claim that he was attacked by two masked supporters of President Donald Trump, who shouted racist and homophobic slurs, placed a noose around his neck, and poured bleach on him. Smollett suggested the city turned against him to distract from other scandals, including the fallout from the 2014 police shooting of a teenager.

“Could it be that they had just found out about the missing minutes and the missing tape from the murder of Laquan McDonald? Could it be that the mayor helped hide that?” Smollett asked. “We’re living in a world where the higher-ups, their main mission, in order to do all of the underhanded things that they’re doing, is to distract us with the shiny object.” 

Smollett’s career began to collapse after two Nigerian Americans came forward to law enforcement and testified that Smollett orchestrated the attack. Smollett’s charges were initially dropped, then refiled a year later, leading to his 2021 conviction on five counts of felony disorderly conduct. In 2024, the Illinois Supreme Court overturned the conviction on a technicality.

Smollett refuses to directly criticize the brothers, who wrote the book “Bigger Than Jussie: The Disturbing Need for a Modern-Day Lynching.” However, he still claims that they were not the attackers.

“All I can say is, God bless you, and I hope it was worth it,” he said. “Every single other person’s story has changed multiple times. Mine has never. I have nothing to gain from this.”