Empire actor Jussie Smollett has spoken out after all charges against him were dropped. The Empire actor had been charged with a 16 count indictment for filing a false police report, with Chicago police alleging that he orchestrated a hate crime attack against him in January.
At an emergency hearing, all charges against him were dropped and his record was wiped clean. After leaving the courthouse, Jussie said: ‘First of all, I want to thank my family, my friends, the incredible people of Chicago and all over the country and the world who have prayed for me, who have supported me, who have shown me so much love. No one will ever know how much that mean to me, and I will forever be grateful. I want you to know that not for a moment was it in vain I have been truthful and consistent on every single level since day one, I would not be my mother’s son if I was capable of one drop of what I have been accused of. This has been an incredibly difficult time. Honestly, one of the worst of my entire life. But I am a man of faith, and I am a man that has knowledge of my history and I would not bring my family, our lives or the movement through a fire like this. I would like to thank my legal counsel from the bottom from my heart and I would also like to thank the state of Illinois for attempting to do what is right. Now, I would like nothing more than to just get back to work and move on with my life. But make no mistake, I will always continue to fight for the justice, inequality and betterment of marginalized people everywhere, so again, thank you for all the support, thank you for Faith, and thank you to God.’
Before Jussie’s statement, his lawyer Patricia Holmes explained that the actor ‘willingly’ forfeited his bond money and that this was not a part of any plea bargain. She said: ‘We are very anxious for Jussie to get on with his career and his life and move forward. Jussie voluntarily agreed to the forfeiture of the bond money. There is no deal, the state dismissed the charges. Jussie is someone who has dedicated his life to public service since he was 15 years old. He is a good solid citizen of the city of Chicago.’ Earlier this month, Jussie pleaded not guilty at the Leighton Criminal Court Building, after a Class 4 felony charge of disorderly conduct was applied 15 times over by a Cook County grand jury.
Photo Credit: Getty
