More than six years after Jussie Smollett was accused of falsely reporting a hate crime attack in Chicago, the former โEmpireโ actor and his case are back in the spotlight.
Netflix documentary โThe Truth About Jussie Smollettโ is set to hit the streamer on Friday, Aug. 22 and feature interviews from those involved in the case and Smollett himself.
In January 2019, Smollett, who was 36 at the time, reported to Chicago police that he had been the victim of a racist and homophobic attack, which sent shockwaves nationwide.
Following an investigation, the city arrested and sued him, accusing the actor of submitting a false police report and orchestrating the attack on himself. Smollett has repeatedly denied the claims and filed a countersuit.
After a trial, Smollett was convicted on five felony counts of disorderly conduct in December 2021 for filing a false police report about a staged hate crime. He was later sentenced to jail time and ordered to pay restitution to the city of Chicago for the cost of the investigation. Then, in November 2024, his conviction was overturned by the Illinois Supreme Court.
In May 2025, Smollett and the city of Chicago reached a settlement agreement. To this day, the actor has maintained his innocence.
Here’s a breakdown of the case.
January 2019: Jussie Smollett Reports He Was Attacked
On Jan. 29, 2019, Smollett reported that he had been brutally attacked in the early morning hours in Chicagoโs Streeterville neighborhood, NBC News reported.
The actor, who is Black and gay, said two men were yelling โracial and homophobic slurs towards him,โ poured an unknown chemical on him and wrapped a rope around his neck, per NBC News.
During the police investigation, brothers Ola and Abel Osundairo, who worked on the set of โEmpire,โ were arrested, according to NBC News. They were not charged and subsequently released after questioning.
February 2019: Jussie Smollett Arrested
Following the police probe, Smollett was arrested Feb. 21, 2019 and charged with disorderly conduct and filing a false police report claiming to be the victim of a hate crime, NBC News reported. Officials said their investigation indicated Smollett paid the Osundairo brothers to stage the attack.
At the time of the arrest, Smollett maintained his innocence.
The arrest came just days after former Cook County Stateโs Attorney Kim Foxx recused herself from the case. Foxxโs first assistant prosecutor then took over.
Former Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson, at the time, accused Smollett of staging a hate-crime attack to advance his career, which the actor also denied.
Smollett was released from jail after posting $10,000 of his $100,00 bond, NBC News reported.
In light of the allegations, Smollettโs โEmpireโ character, Jamal Lyon, had been cut from the showโs final episodes, according to NBC News.
March 2019: Jussie Smollett Indicted on 16 Felony Counts; Then, Charges Dropped
On March 8, 2019, Smollett was indicted by a Chicago grand jury on 16 felony counts, NBC News reported. At the time, Smollett pled not guilty.
In a shocking decision just weeks later, Chicago prosecutors dropped all charges against Smollett later that month, which drew backlash from Johnson and former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, per NBC News.
At the time, prosecutors said the controversial decision was not an exoneration, however. In exchange for dropping the charges, attorneys said Smollett agreed to forfeiture the $10,000 bond he paid to the city and to perform community service.
April 2019: City of Chicago Sues Jussie Smollett for Investigation Costs
After demanding Smollett pay the city of Chicago $130,000 and threatening legal action if he refused, the city’s law department sued the actor April 11, 2019, per NBC News.
In the civil complaint asks the court to hold Smollett liable for police resources used in his investigation, NBC News reported. The complaint also said Smollett should pay $1,000 for each false statement he made to the city, in addition to other damages.
February 2020: Jussie Smollett Indicted, Again, After Case Revived
In late 2019, a special prosecutor was appointed to revive Smollett’s case, and the actor was indicted Feb. 11, 2020 by a grand jury in Chicago, according to NBC News.
In his second indictment, Smollett faced six counts of disorderly conduct for allegedly making false police reports, in addition to his existing lawsuit with the city.
December 2021: Jussie Smollett Convicted
As a result of his trial, in which at one point he took the stand, Smollett was found guilty of five of the six counts he faced Dec. 9, 2021, with a jury concluding he staged the 2019 hate-fueled attack, NBC News reported.
Five of the counts were felony charges, while the sixth was an aggravated battery charge, the special prosecutor revealed at the time.
March 2022: Jussie Smollett Sentenced and Released From Jail
In March 2022, Smollett was sentenced to 150 days in jail and 30 monthsโ probation, per NBC News. He was also ordered to pay more than $120,000 in restitution to the city of Chicago, as well as a fine of $25,000.
At the hearing, Smollett’s attorneys said they intended to appeal the verdict and requested the judge stay โ or hold โ the sentence as they pursue an appeal, which the judge refused.
In a moment that permeated the media, Smollett raised his fist as he was being led out of court, saying, โI am not suicidal. And I am innocent. I could have said that I was guilty a long time ago.โ
After just six days in jail, Smollett was released on bond pending an appeal, NBC News reported. A court granted a motion March 2022 to stay the previous judge’s sentencing order.
December 2023: Jussie Smollett Denied Appeal
An Illinois appeals court upheld Smollett’s disorderly conduct convictions Dec. 1, 2023, the Associated Press reported. Smollett was ordered at the time to finish his original 150-day jail sentence.
At the hearing, Smollett’s legal team voiced their intention to take his case to the Illinois Supreme Court.
November 2024: Illinois Supreme Court Overturns Jussie Smollett’s Conviction
The Illinois Supreme Court overturned Smollett’s conviction in a unanimous decision Nov. 21, 2024, NBC News reported.
The state’s high court ruled that Smollett should not have been charged after he entered a nonprosecution agreement with the Cook County Stateโs Attorneyโs Office. The court also noted the case was of โsignificant public interest,โ which could have led to an unjust resolution.
Following the judges’ ruling, the special prosecutor who brought the second case against Smollett disagreed with the decision and said precedents set in Illinois case law did not definitely preclude a new prosecution after a dismissal without prejudice.
One of Smollettโs attorneys called the prosecutorโs statement โcompletely wrongโ and claimed the legal proceedings throughout Smollettโs case were unfair, reiterating his clientโs innocence, per NBC News.
May 2025: City of Chicago and Jussie Smollett Reach Settlement
Six years after the city of Chicago sued Smollett, the two parties reached a settlement May 1, NBC News reported.
Weeks later, Smollett disclosed the terms of the agreement in a May 23 Instagram post, in which he explained he would be making charitable donations as part of a deal to secure the case’s dismissal.
In the lengthy statement, Smollett said he made a $50,000 donation to the Building Brighter Futures Center for the Arts and would be making an additional $10,000 donation to the Chicago Torture Justice Center.
The Building Brighter Futures Center confirmed Smollett’s donation to NBC News in May, while Chicago Torture Justice Center confirmed the donation in an Instagram post May 23.
In Smollettโs post, the actor maintained his innocence and captioned the statement, โOnward.โ
