Actor Jussie Smollett, 35, is reportedly having a difficult time adjusting to life following his alleged attack in January
HotNewHipHop shared that the Empire star was arrested in February for allegedly staging his own attack in Chicago. While Smollett was deemed guilty by the court of public opinion, the actor’s charges were dropped by Chicago police in March. Even though Smollett won’t face any charges against him, the star was recently sued by the city of Chicago for costs acquired during the investigation. Smollett’s brother, Jojo, claims the charges his brother faced have taken a toll on him both mentally and physically. In his piece for BET titled, “What If Jussie Is Telling The Truth?,” the actor’s brother maintains his innocence and said the actor was affected by his alleged attack.
“I have literally seen him violently awakening from night terrors, following the assault,” Jojo wrote. “Some of my siblings, as well as Jussie’s partner and closest friends, have seen similar things.”
Jojo also criticized Chicago police, stating the department made false reports against the singer as news surrounding the case began to surface. Jojo says that one of the lies Chicago PD spread about his brother was that he staged the attack because he was being written out of Empire for the show’s sixth season. Fox immediately denied there was any truth to the department’s accusations, though they never publicly took back the claims.
The chief also stated as fact that Jussie had sent himself the threatening letter that arrived at the Empire production offices weeks before the attack.
“The FBI then refuted this claim,” Jojo continues in his piece. “Again, the chief did not correct his accusations.”
Jojo reportedly delves more into how the allegations against his brother have affected the entire Smollett family. He also points out that Smollett has maintained his innocence through being booked and arrested and has cooperated with police up until his charges were dropped.
While Smollett has been laying low publicly since being accused of falsifying his attack, the actor’s role on Empire is reportedly still intact. HotNewHipHop shared that Taraji P. Henson said Smollett will return to the show when she appeared on The View i n early April. The What Men Want star stated that she talks to her co-star “all the time,” and she could confirm that he was coming back to the show, but doesn’t have any more info. The show faced a historic low when it returned for Season 5 after hiatus, with just 3.97 million viewers.