(NCS) — Jussie Smollett, the previous star of “Empire,” has maintained that his account of being attacked in an alleged hate crime in 2019 has by no means modified, but questions stay.
The upcoming documentary “The Truth About Jussie Smollett?” options interviews with police, legal professionals and officers accustomed to Smollett’s case, in addition to journalists and “investigators who claim to have uncovered new evidence,” in accordance with a synopsis of the undertaking. Smollett himself additionally seems.
The placement of the query mark in the title of the movie, from the producers of “The Tinder Swindler,” invitations the “audience to decide for themselves who is telling” the reality.
The case started early on January 29, 2019, when Smollett instructed police he was attacked close to his Chicago house by two males shouting racial and homophobic slurs at him. Smollett mentioned the boys positioned a noose round his neck and poured an unknown chemical substance on him, in accordance with the Chicago Police Department on the time. Authorities initially investigated the incident as a hate crime.
Initial shock and sympathy turned to skepticism as rising particulars led to public doubt concerning the actor’s claims. It additionally despatched his profession right into a spiral.
From there, the case started its circuitous authorized journey, and Smollett went from being indicted on 16 counts of disorderly conduct in March 2019, to these costs being dropped shortly thereafter (Smollett pleaded not guilty to the fees), to once more being indicted by a grand jury the next 12 months.
Smollett was finally discovered responsible in December 2021 of making false police reports to Chicago officers, however final 12 months, that conviction was overturned, with the Illinois Supreme Court citing prosecutorial points.
In an interview with Variety revealed this week, Smollett spoke of his public vilification.
“Every single other person’s story has changed multiple times. Mine has never,” Smollett mentioned. “I saw firsthand how narratives are built. I saw firsthand the way that someone can take the exact opposite of who you are and literally sell it.”
“The Truth About Jussie Smollett?” will premiere globally on Aug. 22 on Netflix.
The-NCS-Wire
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NCS’s Ashley R. Williams, Sandra Gonzalez, Megan Thomas and Lauren Mascarenhas contributed to this story.