Jussie Smollett remains unfazed by public opinion, believing that only the universe can truly judge him. Despite the turbulence of the past five years, he has been on a challenging journey of finding inner peace.
Embracing a personal mantra to “hold on for five more minutes,” Smollett has found strength and resilience amid the chaos. In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Smollett, 42, discussed his journey since the 2019 incident, speaking from his New York City hotel room while promoting his second feature film, The Lost Holliday.
Five years ago, Smollett, a gay Black man, reported being attacked on January 29, 2019, by two men who yelled racist and homophobic slurs, put a rope around his neck, and doused him with bleach.
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Law enforcement’s investigation led prosecutors to allege that Smollett staged the attack for media attention, paying $3,500 to brothers Abimbola “Bola” and Olabinjo “Ola” Osundairo to assist.
In a 2021 jury trial, Smollett was found guilty of five felony counts of disorderly conduct for making false reports.
In March 2022, he was sentenced to 150 days in jail, fined $25,000, and ordered to pay over $120,000 in restitution to the Chicago Police Department.
Six days into his sentence, Smollett was released on bail pending his ongoing appeal.
Despite widespread assumptions, he continues to maintain his innocence.
“I was numb,” he said, recalling the incident to PEOPLE. “I didn’t know how to connect the dots. I really genuinely did not know. I couldn’t make sense of what was going on, and I couldn’t make sense of what people were actually thinking … what exactly do they think happened? I couldn’t put two and two together.”
The former Empire star believes there was “no way” the public would fall for “a stupid rumor,” attributing most of the backlash to “haters.”
“They had a mission,” he explained. “I felt very disconnected from that. I still to this day can’t entirely make sense of, ‘What the f— was that?’ But obviously it was painful. I certainly am not going to sit here and try to act to the world as if I was fine.”
Smollett said he has since put in years of self-reflection and healing, calling it “difficult.” In fact, he said, “We’re still dealing with the repercussions from that narrative. We’re still dealing with that every day.”
“At the same time, it’s not in my mental and it’s not in my soul, it’s not in my spirit,” said Smollett, who TMZ reported entered an outpatient rehab facility in 2023. “People can say what they want about you, but they have no control. They can do whatever they want, they can even put you behind bars. They can control your physical, but they can’t control my mind. They can’t control my spirit. They can’t control my soul, and they can’t control the knowledge that I have of who I am.”
Smollett describes February 21, 2019, the day of his arrest, as his “darkest day.”
“That was a pretty dark day because that’s when everything clicked to me of what was happening,” he recalled. “A lot of things tested my strength, a lot of things tested my mental, but the one thing I never lost — I never started thinking that I am somebody that I’m not. That is the one thing that did not happen.”
“Keep in mind, I was deep in my thirties when this happened. This isn’t like I’m a 16-year-old or a 20-year-old, [where] this is impacting their very being of who they believe that they are. I never started thinking that I am somebody that I’m not.”
At the time of the incident, Smollett was at the center of discussions about hate crimes amid America’s increasing political and racial tensions.
Former President Donald Trump even criticized the actor, claiming Smollett had “insulted” his “tens of millions” of followers with his “racist and dangerous comments.”
“I don’t know that, back then, I entirely knew just how caught up in that conversation I was. I really didn’t. I wasn’t aware of just how much of a political football I was — from both sides,” he contemplated. “Things can’t be stifled because the world is going to keep on spinning.”
As a result of these experiences, Smollett has “changed my approach a little bit” regarding how he addresses the social justice issues that matter to him.
“I have a more adult grown up way of talking about it now, but at the same time, my views have not changed,” he said, adding that he now approaches things with a “gentler” touch. “My heart has not shifted at all. I’m the same man that I was and will always be this way. If tons of people are listening to you, you should say something worth them hearing.”
