Taraji P. Henson & More Stars React To Jussie Smollett’s Dropped Charges
On Tuesday, March 26, the public learned that Chicago prosecutors had decided to not pursue criminal charges filed against Jussie Smollett. Smollett was accused back in February of faking what he called a racist attack. Two of Smollett’s alleged accomplices had claimed that the Empire actor paid them to stage a fight where Smollett got slightly injured. Reportedly, one of the men Smollett paid money to for the staged fight said he was Smollett’s ecstasy dealer. After the police investigated the incident, they believed that Smollett had staged the scene, so the actor was arrested and charged.
Two of Smollett’s Empire co-stars rushed to Smollett’s side and defended him after the charges were dropped. Speaking out publicly to support Smollett in his time of need, both Taraji P. Henson and Gabourey Sidibe talked about Smollett and his position the same day it was announced that prosecutors would not pursue the case against him.
The 48-year-old Henson plays the part of Smollett’s television mother on Empire. When she spoke to the media about the prosecutor’s decision just a few hours after learning that the charges had been dropped, she couldn’t contain her happiness.
“I’m happy that the truth has finally been set free, because I knew it all along. We’re all happy for him, and thank God the truth prevailed,” Henson said, according to Us Weekly.
Smollett’s other supportive co-star, Gabourey Sidibe, posted her thoughts on social media. The 35-year-old actor put her response to the news on Instagram. Sidibe posted a picture with the title “16 COUNTS DISMISSED” that featured a summary of Smollett’s legal drama. Then, she commented in a caption underneath the picture. Interestingly, she also disabled comments to her post.
“It’s weird that y’all decided that the police were being 100% honest about this case,” Sidibe said in her post, according to Us Weekly.
Taraji P. Henson, More Stars React After Jussie Smollett's Criminal Charges Dropped Expressing their thoughts. Taraji P. Henson and Gabourey Sidibe were two of the Empire stars who spoke out in support of costar Jussie Smollett on Tuesday, M… https://t.co/bosERG52bD #lifestyle
— CelebStarzNews (@CelebStarzNews) March 28, 2019
Smollett also got a little love from his show’s social media page. Empire’s official Twitter page for the show’s writers tweeted a comment with an emoji that is winking as well as a news article that gave information about Smollett’s case.
“See y’all Wednesday,” the Empire writers official Twitter page read, according to Us Weekly.
However, not everybody that heard news of Smollett’s dropped charges was quite as supportive of the situation. Canadian actor Devon Sawa criticized the judicial system, seeing the failure to follow through in Smollett’s case as a real problem.
“The Smollett announcement is yet another example of how our court system is broken. Lawyers look for loopholes and mistakes and then negotiate deals,” Sawa tweeted, according to Us Weekly.
