'Will & Grace' Star Sean Hayes Makes Jussie Smollett Joke at GLAAD Media Awards
Sean Hayes is poking some fun at all the drama surrounding Jussie Smollett.
During the GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles on Thursday, actress Allison Janney presented the Will and Grace star with the Stephen F. Kolzak Award, which honors an LGBTQ media professional who has made "a significant difference in promoting LGBTQ acceptance."
While taking the stage to accept the award, Hayes was full of jokes, first bringing up the fact that he is the last of the four cast members of Will and Grace to be honored by GLAAD: "[I'm] the last one... the gay one."
Hayes also made a joke about the award show being Vice President Mike Pence's "worst nightmare or wildest dream," followed by a dig at Smollett, the Empire star who allegedly staged a racist and homophobic attack against himself in January. Officials dropped all charges against the 36-year-old actor earlier this week.
"I've been getting in shape for tonight with the Jussie Smollett workout," said Hayes. "You hire two trainers and sweat for eight weeks. It wipes out all your belly fat and credibility."
As ET previously reported, Smollett made an emergency court appearance in Chicago on Tuesday. The Cook County State's Attorney's Office told ET in a statement that "after reviewing all of the facts and circumstances of the case, including Mr. Smollet's volunteer service in the community and agreement to forfeit his bond to the City of Chicago, we believe this outcome is a just disposition and appropriate resolution to this case."
"In the last two years, the Cook County State's Attorney's Office has referred more than 5,700 cases for alternative prosecution," the statement continued. "This is not a new or unusual practice. An alternative disposition does not mean that there were any problems or infirmities with the case or the evidence. We stand behind the Chicago Police Department's investigation and our decision to approve charges in this case. We did not exonerate Mr. Smollett. The charges were dropped in return for Mr. Smollett's agreement to do community service and forfeit his $10,000 bond to the City of Chicago. Without the completion of these terms, the charges would not have been dropped. This outcome was met under the same criteria that would occur for and is available to any defendant with similar circumstances."
Smollett has maintained that he is a victim and denied all allegations that he staged the incident. Although all charges were dropped, Bill McCaffrey, a spokesman for the Chicago government's legal department, tells ET that the city of Chicago is now seeking $130,000 from Smollett to cover the costs of the investigation into the actor's alleged attack.
"The city feels this is a reasonable and legally justifiable amount to collect to help offset the cost of the investigation," says McCaffrey.
More in the video below.
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