History of Jussie Smollett in Timeline
Justin Smollett ( JUSS-ee, born June 21, 1982) is an American actor and singer. He began his career as a child actor in 1987 acting in films including The Mighty Ducks (1992) and Rob Reiner's North (1994).
June 21, 1982
Smollett was born on Smollett
1992
He began his acting career as a child, appearing in the films The Mighty Ducks (1992)
2014
In 2014, Smollett was cast as Jamal Lyon—a gay musician who struggles to gain the approval of his father—opposite Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard in the Fox drama series Empire. His role was hailed as "groundbreaking" for its positive depiction of a black gay man on television. Smollett reprised his role in subsequent seasons, and directed an episode of the fourth season in 2017.
February 2015
In February 2015, Smollett confirmed that he had signed a recording contract with Columbia Records and would be releasing an album in the future. Smollett co-wrote the songs "I Wanna Love You" and "You're So Beautiful" on the Original Soundtrack from Season 1 of Empire album, which was released in March 2015.
March 2015
Smollett came out as gay during a televised interview with Ellen DeGeneres in March 2015.
June 2015
In June 2015, it was announced that Smollett would guest-star alongside his younger sister, Jurnee, on Underground, which aired in 2016. In March 2018, Smollett released his debut album, Sum of My Music. Sum of My Music is an R&B album that features elements of electronic music and hip hop. Smollett self-released it through his own label, Music of Sound.
January 22, 2019
On January 22, 2019, Smollett received a threatening letter which depicted a stick figure hanging from a tree with a gun pointing towards it. It read "Smollett, Jussie you will die" and "MAGA" and contained a white powder determined to be Tylenol. On January 29, 2019, Smollett said that he was attacked in the early morning of that day in the 300 block of East Lower North Water Street in Chicago's Streeterville neighborhood, in what was initially investigated as a hate crime. The Chicago Police later determined Smollett orchestrated the attack.
January 30, 2019
On January 30, 2019, public figures expressed support for Smollett on social media. Entertainment industry figures, including Shonda Rhimes and Viola Davis, tweeted their outrage over the attack and support for Smollett. Democratic senators and presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Cory Booker both described the attack as an attempted modern-day lynching. Booker urged Congress to pass a federal Anti-Lynching bill co-sponsored by him and Harris. In an interview with April Ryan of AURN, President Trump was asked about Smollett being attacked and said, "I think that's horrible. It doesn't get worse." Smollett faced skepticism regarding his claim of being attacked; he responded by saying that he believed that, if he had said his attackers were Mexicans, Muslims, or black people, "the doubters would have supported me much more ... And that says a lot about the place that we are in our country right now."
February 19, 2019
On February 19, 2019, Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx announced that she had recused herself from the investigation, due to her "familiarity with potential witnesses in the case", a move that prompted criticism from her predecessor, Anita Alvarez.
February 20, 2019
On February 20, 2019, Smollett was charged with a class 4 felony for filing a false police report. Smollett’s felony count charge in Illinois carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison. Smollett has hired attorney Mark Geragos in addition to Chicago-based attorneys Todd Pugh and Victor Henderson to work on his legal defense.
March 14, 2019
On March 8, Smollett was indicted on 16 felony counts of "false report of offense" related to the incident. On March 14, 2019, Smollett and his legal team entered a not guilty plea at the Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago.
March 26, 2019
On March 26, 2019, all charges filed against Smollett were dropped, with Judge Steven Watkins ordering the public court file sealed. First Assistant State's Attorney Joseph Magats said the office reached a deal with Smollett's defense team in which prosecutors would drop the charges if Smollett performed community service and forfeited his $10,000 bond. Magats made a statement saying that the decision was not an exoneration of Smollett, "we stand behind the investigation, we stand behind the decision to charge him. The fact that [Smollett] feels that we have exonerated him, we have not. I can’t make it any clearer than that". Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel strongly criticized the decision saying it was a "whitewash of justice" and that "From top to bottom, this is not on the level". Police superintendent Eddie Johnson said that justice was not served.