Disgraced actor Jussie Smollett is once again defending his “innocence” as he continues to appeal his hate crime hoax conviction, spending a reported $3 million on his appeals.
During an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Smollett complained about people viewing him as guilty of committing a hate crime hoax after he was, in fact, found guilty.
“I want to have all of these things in my life, and I don’t want to have a felony on my record for something that I didn’t do,” he said. “That’s what we’re fighting for. I know that on the surface it probably seems like why doesn’t he just serve the time, why doesn’t he just let this go. It would be easier if I had in fact done this to say that I did it. I wouldn’t have spent almost $3 million of my own money. I would not have had a trial.”
On January 29, 2019, Smollett reported the obvious hoax “hate crime” to the police — claiming that he was attacked in Chicago at 2 a.m. in freezing weather by two white men who somehow recognized the B-list gay actor and yelled that Chicago is “MAGA country” while making racist and homophobic slurs, wrapping a rope around his neck, and pouring an “unknown substance” on him.
It was later confirmed that the two “white men” attackers were actually two Nigerian brothers that Smollett hired to help him stage the hoax attack to become more famous. The brothers testified against Smollett in court, leading him to be convicted on five counts of disorderly conduct and sentenced to 150 days in jail in 2021. However, Smollett only spent six days in jail, as he was let out while he appeals the conviction.
BREAKING: Jussie Smollett found guilty on multiple counts for hate crime hoax! pic.twitter.com/3ZB7q0Ifav
— PragerU (@prageru) December 10, 2021
Despite all of the evidence against him and the testimony of his co-conspirators, Smollett has maintained his innocence the entire time.
“As an entertainer, as a businessman, I probably should [stop fighting the charges],” Smollett told Entertainment Tonight.
He went on to play the race card and the LGBT card while defending his supposed innocence.
“But as a human being and as a man, as a black man and as an openly gay black man, I have a problem with letting them win on something they shouldn’t be able to,” Smollett said. “I’m a grown man and something happened. I can’t tell exactly what did happen, but I can tell you what did not happen. That’s what I have to sit on. No matter how much people are yelling in my face, saying ‘You’re a liar, you’re a liar.’ No, I’m not. No, I’m not. I don’t want them to believe that, but if that is what they believe, that’s on you.”
Smollett then claimed that while “fighting the very things that are untrue,” he got mixed up by some actual truths — which he claims were used “to prove things that were not true.”
“So there were those moments where I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, my life is kind of — oh, well, I didn’t do that.’ And they’re like, ‘But you did this.’ And I’m like ‘Ah, I did do that. I did buy that.’ And there are things like that that I’ve had to talk to my family about, that I’ve had to talk to friends about,” he added. “I’m OK with accepting responsibility for things that I’ve actually done. I’m just not OK with accepting responsibility for things that I did not do.”
Smollett also claimed that, because his story has never changed, he is being honest — while arguing that other peoples’ stories changing means that they are lying.
“I’ve stood by, not my truth but the truth for the entire time, almost six years,” he said. “I haven’t switched my story up. I haven’t changed anything that I ever said. I stand by every single thing that I’ve ever said. Everyone else in the situation, every single person, has changed their story numerous times,” Smollett claimed.
