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Jussie Smollett is returning to the spotlight on his own terms five years after his alleged hate crime hoax made headlines around the world.
The seasoned actor-director opened up about the lasting impact of his ongoing legal issues during an appearance on Way Up With Angela Yee on Thursday, September 26. Smollett joined co-star Jabari Redd and producer Mona-Scott Young to discuss their upcoming film The Last Holliday ahead of its theatrical debut this weekend. At one point in the conversation, Yee asked Smollett about his return to Hollywood years after the incident in Chicago. Smollett said it's been tough, but he's trying to move on.
"It's been rough, but this is what I do," Smollett said. "I create art and I hopefully create art that affects people in a really important and impactful and loving way. Everything else for me is just noise. Even if the rest of the world has not moved on from it, I am in the process of moving on from it."
In 2019, the former "Empire" actor claimed he was the victim of a homophobic and racially motivated attack outside of his apartment in Chicago. Police later determined that the alleged attack was staged by Smollett and two brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo, who testified that the actor paid them to stage the incident. Smollett was charged with 16 counts of disorderly conduct, but the charges were eventually dropped by Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx.
A judge later ruled that Foxx's office mishandled the case and brought in a special prosecutor to review it. The prosecutor returned with six new charges of disorderly conduct against Smollett. After a jury convicted him in 2021, Smollett was sentenced to 150 days in jail. He spent six days behind bars before he was released pending his appeal. An Illinois Appellate Court panel rejected his argument that the trial violated his Fifth Amendment rights on double jeopardy. He decided to bring the case in front of the Illinois Supreme Court, which heard his arguments last week.
While he awaits a decision, Smollett is slowly working his way back into Hollywood. He wrote, directed and starred in The Last Holliday alongside Vivica A. Fox, Gina Belafonte and Leslie David Baker. He said he's been working "very hard on every element" of himself, but he'd be lying if he said the public's perception doesn't bother him.
"It bothers me. Sometimes it hurts my feelings," he said. "Sometimes it really pisses me off, but at the same time there's so much more important things that I know factually that the world needs to see."
See more clips and watch the entire interview below.