A musical return. Jussie Smollett made a comeback to Instagram to give the world an update on what he has been doing in the days since his January 2019 alleged attack.
“Quarantine day 421…” the actor, 37, captioned his Wednesday, March 25, post, referring to the coronavirus pandemic. “Hope y’all are staying safe. Spread love and kindness… not Rona. Bro @davidmichaelott on [keyboard] (I swear Imma learn this before I walk outside).”
In the video, Smollett sang Stevie Wonder’s “A Place in the Sun” as he sat on the floor in a black T-shirt and matching sweatpants. As for insight into his caption, Wednesday marks 421 days since he was allegedly attacked in Chicago.
The Empire alum made headlines in January 2019 when he claimed he was targeted in a racist and homophobic attack. “Despite my frustrations and deep concern with certain inaccuracies and misrepresentations that have been spread, I still believe that justice will be served,” he said in a statement to Essence in February 2019. “As my family stated, these types of cowardly attacks are happening to my sisters, brothers and non-gender conforming siblings daily. I am not and should not be looked upon as an isolated incident. We will talk soon and I will address all details of this horrific incident, but I need a moment to process. Most importantly, during times of trauma, grief and pain, there is still a responsibility to lead with love. It’s all I know. And that can’t be kicked out of me.”
In February 2019, he was accused of staging the incident and charged with felony disorderly conduct for making a false police report. He was arrested and later hit with 16 felony counts.
Smollett’s attorneys said in March 2019 that the charges against him were dropped, but in February 2020, a special prosecutor indicted him on six felony counts of disorderly conduct. He pleaded not guilty to the charges at the time.
The Mighty Ducks star was written out of Empire amid his legal woes. His costars sent an open letter to network executives and producers in April 2019 to rehire him, but their efforts failed.
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