Jussie Smollet Stands by Account of Attack, Says His Story Has 'Never' Changed

Jussie Smollett insists that, despite years of public scrutiny over his 2019 alleged hate crime hoax, his version of events has “never” changed.

The Empire actor recently spoke with Variety ahead of the release of a new Netflix documentary, The Truth About Jussie Smollett?, which is set to be released on August 22.

“The villains are the two people who assaulted me, the Chicago Police Department and, if I may be so brave, the mayor,” he told the magazine in reference to Rahm Emanuel, who held the job from 2011 and 2019 and is the brother of Hollywood power broker Ari Emanuel.

Smollett insists he was the victim of a hate crime and that the city’s power structure conspired to frame him. He also suggested the motive may have been to cover up the case of Laquan McDonald, a Black 17-year-old who was shot by a white Chicago police officer, Jason Van Dyke.

The case prompted a federal judge to require the police department to undertake dozens of reforms just days before Smollett reported his attack.

“Could it be that they had just found out about the missing minutes and the missing tape from the murder of Laquan McDonald? Could it be that the mayor helped hide that?” Smollett asked. “We’re living in a world where the higher-ups, their main mission, in order to do all of the underhanded things that they’re doing, is to distract us with the shiny object.”

“Every single other person’s story has changed multiple times. Mine has never. I have nothing to gain from this,” Smollett said.

The former Empire star maintains that two masked men shouting racist and homophobic slurs attacked him, even as two Nigerian American brothers, Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo, testified under oath that they carried out the assault at his request.

While his conviction for felony disorderly conduct was overturned on a technicality in 2024, the years-long legal battle left his reputation in shambles.

He is now attempting a professional comeback with a new single, “Break Out,” and joining the cast of Fox’s reality show Special Forces. He also recently wrote, directed, and starred in the new film The Last Holliday, which also stars Vivica A. Fox and Smollett’s fiancé, Jabari Redd.

However, Smollett still acknowledges the perception people may still have about him.

“I’m still insecure when I meet people for the first time,” he admitted. “I don’t know if they are coming into the room thinking that I’m this trash person who did something that I didn’t do, or if they are thinking that I am this good person who got a raw deal. Or if they’re not thinking anything and they’re just coming in … I would rather the latter.”

He continued, “I saw firsthand how narratives are built. I saw firsthand the way that someone can take the exact opposite of who you are and literally sell it. And people will be like, ‘I believe it!’ God rest his soul, but homeboy Michael Jackson tried to warn us.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Smollet said, “To be honest with you, I don’t really know. I’m not an investigative reporter or a detective. I can’t sit and tell you exactly, beat by beat, what happened. I can only tell you what did not happen. And what did not happen is the story that’s been out there for almost seven years, that somehow I would have even a reason to do something as egregious as this.”