Jussie Smollett checks himself into rehab amid ongoing legal battle for hate crime hoax

Actor Jussie Smollett has checked himself into an outpatient rehabilitation facility amid an ongoing legal battle regarding a 2019 Chicago hate crime hoax.

“Jussie has had an extremely difficult past few years,” the“Empire” star’s publicist said in a statement to TMZ on Wednesday. “He has quietly been working very hard for some time now and we are proud of him for taking these necessary steps.”

Smollett, 40, was sentenced to 150 days in jail and given 30 months of felony probation after being found guilty of five counts of disorderly conduct in May 2022. He was also ordered to pay more than $120,000 in restitution to the City of Chicago and was fined $25,000.

The“B-Boy Blues” director, who is Black and identifies as gay, was charged for allegedly paying two brothers, Abel and Ola Osundairo, $3,500 to help stage a homophobic and racist attack against him in January 2019.

“There’s a side of you that has this arrogance, and selfishness and narcissism that’s just disgraceful,” Cook County Judge James Linn said while sentencing the actor. “You’re not a victim of a racial hate crime, you’re not a victim of a homophobic hate crime. You’re just a charlatan pretending to be a victim of a hate crime, and that’s shameful.”

Smollett was released on bond from county jail six days later.

He joined his legal team last month at the Chicago-based First District Appellate Court to argue that anger over the case led to properly dismissed charges being improperly restored.

A ruling has yet to be made in Smollett’s appeal.

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