Jussie Smollett’s drama king saga has finally come to an end. Yesterday, the embattled actor was sentenced after being convicted of making false reports to Chicago police. He will now spend the next 150 days in jail and upon his release, he will spend the subsequent 30 months on felony probation. In addition, Smollett will pay restitution of $120,000 and will pay $25,000 in fines.
According to NBCNews, Judge James Linn did not bite his tongue for one syllable as he verbally undressed the Empire star saying that the sham exhibited “extreme premeditation” and charging Smollett with “craving attention” prior to reading his sentence.
“You turned your life upside down,” Linn said. “You destroyed your life as you know it. There is nothing I can do to you today that will come close to the damage you’ve done to your own life.”
“You were throwing a national pity party for yourself,” the judge said.
For his part, Jussie continued to maintain his innocence despite standing in his day of judgment.
“Your honor, I respect you and I respect the jury, but I did not do this,” the actor told the judge, before turning to the court. “And I am not suicidal. And if anything happens to me when I go in there, I did not do it to myself. And you must all know that.”
Sounds like we have to take back what we said earlier about the drama king-ing being over. Jussie’s family also chimed in to defend his honor, including his 92-year-old grandmother Molly Smollet and his brother Joel Smollett, Jr.
“I ask you, judge, not to send him to prison,” Molly Smollett, 92, told the court. She later added, “If you do, send me along with him, OK?”
Jussie Smollett’s brother, Joel Smollett, Jr., told the court that Jussie is “not a threat to the people of Illinois. In my humble opinion, he is completely innocent.”
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot also relished in some good ol’ piling on according to NYPost:
“The criminal conviction of Jussie Smollett by a jury of his peers and today’s sentencing should send a clear message to everyone in the City of Chicago that false claims and allegations will not be tolerated,” Lightfoot said in a statement after Smollett was sentenced to 150 days in jail by a Chicago judge.
“The malicious and wholly fabricated claim made by Mr. Smollett resulted in over 1500 hours of police work that cost the City over $130,000 in police overtime,” she went on. “The City feels vindicated in today’s ruling that he is being held accountable and that we will appropriately receive restitution for his actions.”
This whole affair has been a s**t show from minute 1 and while we hope we never have to hear about it again, that’s probably not going to happen considering how defiant the Smolletts are about Jussie’s guilt. We wouldn’t be surprised if he gets out and stars as himself in a retconned film about this entire debacle.
Godspeed, young man. Take care of yourself in the bing.
Comments
Bossip Comment Policy
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.