*Former “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett was sentenced to 150 days in jail and 30 months probation on Thursday after being convicted last year of staging a racist, homophobic attack on himself in Chicago in January 2019, and then lying to police about it.
After the sentence was handed down, Smollett exploded in the courtroom, loudly proclaiming his innocence and suggesting something might happen to him in county jail by repeatedly making clear that he is “not suicidal.”
During the sentencing hearing, Judge James Linn chastised and shamed Smollett, called him a liar, and accused him of committing purgery during his own testimony. The judge also noted that Smollett’s ego and narcissism led to him allegedly plotting the hate crime against himself.
READ MORE: Jussie Smollett Claims Racism in Jury Selection – Wants Not Guilty Verdict or New Trial
Per CBS News, “Smollett faced up to three years in prison for each of the five felony counts.” He will spend the first 150 days of his probation in jail starting today. He will also have to pay restitution of $250,000 to the city of Chicago and a $25,000 fine.
“Let me tell you Mr. Smollett, I know that there is nothing that I will do here today that can come close to the damage you’ve already done to your own life,” Linn said Thursday. “You’ve turned your life upside down by your misconduct and shenanigans, you’ve destroyed your life as you knew it, and there’s nothing that any sentencing judge could do to you that can compare to the damage you’ve already caused yourself.”
The judge roasted Jussie Smollett so hard. pic.twitter.com/rq3j4bTflE
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) March 11, 2022
“Your honor, I respect you and I respect the jury, but I did not do this,” Smollett told the judge after sentencing , before turning to the court. “And I am not suicidal. And if anything happens to me when I go in there, I did not do it to myself. And you must all know that.”
And with that, Smollett was escorted out of the courtroom by officers to begin his jail sentence.
In December Smollett was found guilty of felony disorderly conduct for making false police reports about the hate crime. He testified in his own defense and denied conspiring with two Nigerian brothers to carry out the attack.
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