Six years after claiming that he was the victim of a hate crime, actor Jussie Smollett is continuing to push back against the narrative put forth by Chicago officials that it was all a “hoax.”
In “The Truth About Jussie Smollett?”, a new Netflix documentary that debuts Thursday, the former “Empire” star revisits the legal battle surrounding the alleged attack, which police and city officials said he orchestrated against himself.
While the documentary’s release comes just over three months after Smollett and the city of Chicago reached a civil settlement, the actor spends much of his interview segments defending himself and maintaining his innocence.
“At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter whether someone likes me or doesn’t like me,” Smollett said in the documentary, adding that “the fact is: I didn’t do that. And that’s all that matters.”
Smollett, who is Black and gay, first reported a hate crime committed against him in January 2019, alleging that two men confronted him with racial and homophobic slurs, wrapped a rope around his neck, and poured bleach on him.
However, city officials sued Smollett and accused him of submitting a false police report on Jan. 29, 2019, saying he knew his attackers and planned the attack. The city’s lawsuit sought $130,000 in expenses spent on the police investigation. Smollett countersued, denying that he orchestrated the attack.
Brothers Olabingo and Abimbola Osundairo, who worked on the “Empire” set and authored a book titled “Bigger Than Jussie: The Disturbing Need for a Modern-Day Lynching,” said they were paid by Smollett to stage the hate crime and testified against the actor during his trial.
In addition to Smollett, the documentary features interviews with: Smollett’s attorney; former Chicago police officials; the Osundairo brothers; their attorney; and journalists who covered the case.
“I believe he wanted to be the poster boy of activism for Black people, for gay people, for marginalized people,” “Bola” Osundairo said of Smollett in the documentary.
“Ola” Osundairo said when Smollett asked them to “beat him up,” he “thought it was crazy.” “But at the same time, I’m like, ‘It’s Hollywood.’ This is how it goes,” he said in the documentary.
Smollett was found guilty on five criminal counts of felony disorderly conduct in December 2021 and sentenced to 150 days in jail and 30 months’ probation in March 2022. But the Illinois Supreme Court overturned the conviction in November 2024.
The state high court ruled that Smollett should have never been charged in the first place after entering a nonprosecution agreement with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.
The years-long case captivated the country, with many speculating about what actually happened as Smollett continued to make headlines.
In the documentary, Smollett said he was “playing whack-a-mole with rumors, with lies” throughout the investigation.
But, “at a certain point, it’s too many, and you can’t catch them all,” he added.
The documentary, which is from the producers of “The Tinder Swindler,” says in its promotional materials that it wants the “audience to decide for themselves who is telling” the truth.
Smollett has not commented on the documentary on his social media. He gave a lengthy interview to Variety ahead of its release, in which he touched on the overall impact the case had on him.
“Every single other person’s story has changed multiple times. Mine has never,” Smollett told the publication. “I saw firsthand how narratives are built. I saw firsthand the way that someone can take the exact opposite of who you are and literally sell it.”
The actor is currently promoting his new R&B album and was recently announced as a contestant on the reality show, “Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test.” The show airs on Fox, the same network that canceled “Empire” in the aftermath of the Smollett saga.
Viola Flowers contributed.
