Jussie Smollett's conviction for staging a racist and homophobic attack on himself was overturned by the Illinois Supreme Court in November 2024 on due-process grounds — but the special prosecutor's parting words were blunt: Smollett is 'not innocent.'
The saga began in the frigid early hours of January 29, 2019, when Smollett — then a star of Fox's music drama 'Empire' — told Chicago police that two masked men had attacked him near his Streeterville apartment, shouting racist and homophobic slurs and 'This is MAGA country,' placing a noose around his neck and pouring bleach on him. The report drew national outrage and an outpouring of celebrity support. But within weeks, the investigation collapsed: detectives traced the alleged attackers to brothers Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo, whom Smollett knew from 'Empire,' and the brothers testified that Smollett had paid them $3,500 by check, rehearsed the attack, and staged it near a surveillance camera so it could be publicized. Police found the rope and clothing receipts to match.
Prosecutors alleged Smollett's motive was publicity amid contract negotiations and perceived slights over his role. In March 2019, Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx's office abruptly dropped all 16 felony counts in exchange for Smollett forfeiting his $10,000 bond and performing community service — a deal that ignited its own firestorm. Amid the backlash, a special prosecutor, Dan Webb, was appointed; a grand jury re-indicted Smollett in February 2020, and in December 2021 a jury convicted him on five counts of felony disorderly conduct after more than nine hours of deliberation. He was sentenced in March 2022 to 150 days in jail, 30 months' probation, a $25,000 fine, and $120,106 in restitution for the police overtime his false report consumed. He served six days before being released on appeal bond.
In November 2024, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled 4-2 that the second prosecution violated Smollett's due-process rights, since the state had already resolved the case through the 2019 plea agreement. Webb responded that during the appeal, Smollett's defense never challenged the 'overwhelming evidence' that he orchestrated the hoax. Smollett maintains his innocence — including in the 2025 Netflix documentary 'The Truth About Jussie Smollett?' — while his acting career never recovered. The case remains a uniquely American parable: a hate-crime report that polarized a nation, a prosecution that collapsed on a technicality, and a truth that two trials and one supreme court could not finally settle.