Former Empire star Jussie Smollett was sentenced yesterday for making false reports of being a victim of a hate crime in January 2019. Cook County Judge James Linn ordered Smollett to 150 days in jail, 30 months of probation, over $120k in restitution for the city of Chicago, plus a $25k fine. Just before the sentencing, Judge James Linn scolded Jussie for the hate crime hoax, calling him out on his “arrogance” and “narcissism.”

“There’s a side of you that has this arrogance, and selfishness and narcissism that’s just disgraceful,” the judge said. “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.”

Jussie spoke up after the sentencing, acknowledging his respect for the judge and reassuring the court that he’s not guilty nor suicidal in the event something happens to him while serving his 150-day sentence.

“Your honor, I respect you and I respect the jury, but I did not do this,” Jussie pleaded. “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.”

 

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Smollett was found guilty of five of the six felony charges in December for staging what he called an anti-black and anti-gay hate crime back in January 2019. In his initial reports, Jussie claimed two masked men yelled racist and homophobic slurs at him while tying a noose around his neck and pouring bleach on him.

Do you think Jussie’s sentencing is appropriate for the crime?