The Jussie Smollett saga has come to an end for now.
A Chicago judge sentenced the fallen star to 150 days in jail and 30 months of probation Thursday for lying to police more than three years after he asked two men to “fake beat him up” and shout racist and homophobic slurs at him in an elaborate scheme to raise his public profile.
The judge asked Smollett if he had anything he’d like to say and he at first seemed to say no before a final outburst in which the former “Empire” actor proclaimed his innocence and seemed to imply some kind of conspiracy against him.
“I am not suicidal. I am innocent, and I’m not suicidal. If I did this, then it means that I stubbed my fist in the fears of black Americans in this country for over 400 years and the fears of the LGBTQ community,” Smollett said.
“Your Honor, I respect you and I respect your decision, 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.
“I respect you, your honor. respect your decision. Jail time,” he said clasping his palms together in a prayer motion, before saying again, “I’m not suicidal.”
As he handed down the sentence, Judge James Linn called the actor a “disgrace” and his performance during the trial, in which he testified on his own behalf, as “pure perjury.”
“You’re not the victim of a racist hate crime, you’re not the victim of a homopobic hate crime, you’re just a charlatan pretending to be the victim of a hate crime and that’s shameful especially,” Linn told the court.
“You have another side of you that is profoundly arrogant and selfish and narcissistic and that bad side of you came out during the course of this,” Linn continued.
“Your performance on the witness stand, this can only be described as pure perjury. You got on the witness stand… you committed hour upon hour upon hour of pure perjury.”
Smollett, 39, was convicted of five counts of felony disorderly conduct and acquitted of a sixth following his eight-day trial late last year.
The raps carry a maximum sentence of three years each and while experts said previously Smollett was unlikely to see jail time given his mostly clean criminal record and the non-violent nature of the charges, his decision to take the stand in his own defense ultimately weighed against him.
Throughout five hours of testimony over the course of two days, the former “Empire” actor vehemently maintained there “was no hoax” and at times, grew defensive and combative under cross-examination by special prosecutor Dan Webb.
When the veteran litigator hammered Smollett over text messages he exchanged on the night he claimed he was attacked, he told Webb he did “not understand Instagram.”
“There was no fake attack. … There was an update to my over 5 million followers,” Smollett seethed.
“You’re misrepresenting me to the jury and to the entire court, and it’s not fair,” he complained.
“Without showing the actual Insta stories that I posted, they’re not getting the full story so they don’t understand.”
The remarks prompted a reprimand from Judge James Linn, who told him to “just answer” the questions “without arguing.”
Following the jury’s guilty verdict on Dec. 9, Webb excoriated Smollett for his testimony, which he said compounded the crimes jurors found he committed.
“Mr. Smollett had faked a hate crime and then lied to the police about it and then compounded his crimes by lying to the jury during the course of this trial, insulting their intelligence,” Webb said.
“That verdict is a resounding message by the jury that in fact Mr. Smollett did exactly what we said he did.”
While Smollett’s sentence Thursday feels like the last act in the made-for-tv drama, his attorney Nenye Uche has vowed to appeal the conviction.
“We feel 100 percent confident that this case will be won on appeal,” Uche told reporters on the night Smollett was convicted.
“Unfortunately, that’s not the route we wanted but sometimes that’s the route you have to take to win, especially a case where we remain 100 percent confident in our client’s innocence.”
Ought to make the pos spend at least 5 years in prison.
Poor little gay boy I hope they beat his little ass while he’s in there!
Is sissy boy afraid???? YOU BET!!!!!
Hooray! Finally a fair, non-Leftist Judge and prosecutor, however, the worthless, racist thug should have been sentenced to much longer in the pokey and should be sent to prison rather than jail! If there’s any justice, the smug little hate crime convict will get what he deserves in jail and he will with his attitude! Also, notice the article says he has a “mostly clean criminal record”, which is like saying Charles Manson had a mostly clean criminal record except for the murders! Juicy was convicted of a DUI and lied to the police then as well by trying to proclaim that he was not Juicy, but his brother! Of course they busted him and easily disproved the habitual liar’s lame attempt to ruin his brother’s record (if he has a brother). Maybe his “Cellies” will be the two Nigerian buds he conspired with and they tag-team a real beating. Wow; really good news for a change. (Should be forced to repay the 100s of thousands wasted by Chicago PD proving Lil’ Juicy was a typical lying, punk criminal!)
jussie is looking forward to his 150 day honeymoon in the slammer,, his “slammer” will be well used he is hoping.
Can we just pray for the young man instead of hoping for the worst to happen to him. Be mindful of the things you wish on other that they don’t happen to you.
now his gollywood friends are cryin that the penalty is too “harsh” they starting a “free jussie ” campaign. bunch a fools.