Jussie Smollett Donates $50K to Chicago Charity to Settle Hoax Lawsuit

Jussie Smollett has agreed to cut a $50,000 check to a Chicago charity, ending his years-long hate crime case.

In exchange for the donation, the city will dismiss a $130,000 lawsuit it filed against the actor over expenses for the Chicago Police Department’s investigation into his claims.

The city’s Law Department confirmed details of the agreement in a statement to CBS Chicago on Thursday, May 22.

“The city believes this settlement provides a fair, constructive, and conclusive resolution, allowing all the parties to close this six-year-old chapter and move forward,” a Law Department spokesperson told the outlet.

Also Read: Jussie Smollett Slams Chicago Leaders for ‘False Narrative’ After Settling Lawsuit

The $50,000 will go toward to the Building Brighter Futures Center, a local organization that offers health and education opportunities, and “strives to nurture underprivileged youth so that they become self-sustaining adults,” according to the center’s website.

The two sides agreed to settle the case on April 28 as previously reported. Details of the agreement were scheduled to be finalized at a status hearing on May 29.

On Jan. 29, 2019, Smollett told police he was attacked in the early morning hours by two men wearing MAGA hats. The actor, who is openly gay, said the men yelled racial and homophobic slurs, doused him with bleach, and put a noose around his neck.

But as police investigated the case, they questioned the actor’s claims. Smollett was charged with disorderly conduct and filing a false police report.

Then-Cook County State’s Attorney Kimberly Foxx opted to drop the charges.

Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and former Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson held a news conference and blasted Foxx for her decision.

“This is a whitewash of justice,” a furious Emanuel said.

Amid public outrage, a special prosecutor was appointed to reexamine the case. In February 2020, Smollett was charged again, tried and convicted.

The actor was sentenced in 2022 to 150 days in jail and 30 months probation. He served six days before being released pending an appeal.

The Illinois Supreme Court eventually overturned that conviction. The court found that Smollett should not have been charged after he entered a no prosecution agreement with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Smollett has never admitted that he played a role in his attack.

In 2023, Fox Nation aired a five-part docuseries on the case titled Jussie Smollett: Anatomy of a Hoax. The series included interviews with some of the key players from the case, including the two siblings who alleged Smollett paid them to attack him, and ex-top cop Eddie Johnson.

“Most folks aren’t going out at two in the morning on the coldest night of the year,” Johnson said.

Added brand strategist and then-Fox Soul host Al Reynolds, “I think that he was looking for that Civil Rights martyrdom.”