All criminal charges against Smollett were dropped Tuesday after the “Empire” star was indicted on 16 counts of filing a false police report earlier this month.
After his lawyer confirmed that charges against him have been dropped, “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett gave a statement in which he said he has been “truthful and consistent on every level from day one.”
“This has been an incredibly difficult time. Honestly one of the worst of my entire life,” Smollett said in a statement in front of the Chicago courthouse. “Now I’d like nothing more than to get back to work and move on with my life.”
Read the full statement below:
“I just made a couple notes. First of all I want to thank my family, my friends, the incredible people of Chicago and all over the country and the world who have prayed for me , who have supported me and who have showed me so much love. No one will ever know how much that has meant to me and I will be forever grateful. I want you to know that not for a moment was it in vain. I would not be my mother’s son if I was capable of one drop of what I’ve been accused of.
“This has been an incredibly difficult time. Honestly one of the worst of my entire life. But I am a man of faith and I am a man that has knowledge of my history and I would not bring my family, our lives or the movement through a fire like this. I just wouldn’t.”
“Now I’d like nothing more than to get back to work and move on with my life. But make no mistakes, I will always continue to fight for the justice, equality and betterment of marginalized people everywhere. So again thank you for all the support. Thank you for faith and thank you to God. Bless you. Thank you very much.”
Prior to his statement, Smollett’s lawyer, Patricia Brown Holmes, said that the way Chicago Police Department and prosecutors handled the case led “things to spiral out of control.”
Brown Holmes pleaded with prosecutors to in future “investigate the charges” and not to “jump ahead and utilize the press to convict people before they are tried in a court of law.”
“There was no deal. The state dismissed the charges,” Holmes said Tuesday morning during a press conference outside the Cook County courthouse. She added that Smollett “voluntarily” agreed to forfeit his bond. “I don’t have information that the state would have as to why they dropped these charges.”
Smollett’s family released a statement earlier this morning saying that “this morning truth has prevailed.”
“Our son and brother is an innocent man whose name and character has been unjustly smeared,” the statement read. “Jussie is a son, a brother, a partner, a champion for human rights, and a genuine soul who would never be capable of what he was falsely accused of. He was the victim of an assault and then falsely blamed for his own attack. This morning truth has prevailed and he has been vindicated. All charges have been dismissed and his record expunged (cleared).”
“Empire” network Fox and studio 20th Century Fox TV say they are “gratified” that charges against star Jussie Smollett were dropped by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office Tuesday.
“Jussie Smollett has always maintained his innocence and we are gratified that all charges against him have been dismissed,” the studio and network said in a joint statement. Source: Variety
