All Charges Dropped in Jussie Smollett Case

Jussie Smollett will no longer be prosecuted for his alleged involvement in staging a hate crime. According to TMZ, all charges against Smollett were dropped by Cook County, Chicago prosecutors on Tuesday morning. The news marks the end of a highly-publicized legal battle between the Empire star and Chicago authorities: Smollett was facing 16 counts of lying to the police regarding a January 29 attack, which he claimed was motivated by racism and homophobia.

“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,” said his legal team in a statement. “Jussie was attacked by 2 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 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.”

A source close to the situation tells TMZ that Chicago prosecutors’ case “disintegrated” in recent weeks. The outlet reports that State’s Attorney Kim Foxx chose to drop the case because Jussie would have gotten community service had he been convicted, but “she said he has already performed community service so there is no point in prosecuting him.” Foxx’s office issued a statement this morning, saying, “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.”

On January 29, Smollett, who is African American and openly gay, claimed to have been attacked by two men yelling racial and homophobic slurs. He said that the men screamed, “This is MAGA country” and tied a noose around his neck. Police began investigating the incident as a hate crime, but their focus soon shifted to Smollett. In February, Chicago PD claimed that Smollett staged the attack with two Nigerian brothers because he was “dissatisfied” with his Empire salary, and they later charged him with filing a false police report and disorderly conduct. Smollett continued to deny his involvement in the crime.

As a result of the weeks-long legal battle, Smollett was removed from the final two episodes of Empire Season 5. “While these allegations are very disturbing, we are placing our trust in the legal system as the process plays out,” producers said at the time. “We are also aware of the effects of this process on the cast and crew members who work on our show and to avoid further disruption on set, we have decided to remove the role of ‘Jamal’ from the final two episodes of the season.”

Empire producers have yet to comment on Smollett’s status now that the charges against him have been dropped.

Where to stream Empire