It makes no difference to Jussie Smollett what other people believe. According to him, the only thing that can make up for his transgressions is the cosmos.
Nevertheless, the journey to discover his own inner calm was one of the most challenging things he had ever encountered. This is a close personal motto that he now holds dear to his heart. He has learnt how to “hold on for five more minutes” amidst the mayhem that has occurred over the course of the last five years.
Smollett, who is 42 years old, participates in the Zoom chat “ready as I’ll ever be” from his hotel room in New York City. This is the first time that he has been interviewed by PEOPLE since the event that occurred in 2019. The Lost Holliday, his second feature film, is now being promoted by him as he is throughout the continent.
Five years ago, Smollett, who identifies as a homosexual Black male, said that he was assaulted by two men late at night on January 29, 2019, when he was on his way home from a Subway sandwich restaurant. The individuals allegedly yelled homophobic and racial insults at him, tied a rope around his neck, and doused him with bleach. Smollett reported that he was being beaten with bleach.
Prosecutors said that Smollett manufactured the assault in order to get media attention and paid three thousand five hundred dollars to two brothers, Abimbola “Bola” and Olabinjo “Ola” Osundairo, in order to assist him in carrying it out. This allegation was made after an investigation that was carried out by law enforcement.
After a trial by jury in 2021, Smollett was found guilty of five felony counts of disorderly conduct for making false reports to investigators in December 2021. He was sentenced to 150 days in jail in March 2022, a fine of $25,000, and to pay more than $120,000 in restitution for overtime expenses incurred by the Chicago Police Department. Smollett was sentenced to these punishments. During the sixth day of his sentence, the actor was granted bail and freed awaiting the outcome of his appeal, which is still ongoing.
Smollett continues to insist that he is innocent, despite the fact that he claims that a large number of people have presumed otherwise.
According to him, “I was numb,” when he was asked about the event by PEOPLE. “I was at a loss for how to make the connections…” If I’m being really honest, I had no idea. I was unable to make sense of what was going on, and I was also unable to make sense of what others were truly thinking; it was difficult for me to understand what they believed had occurred. I was unable to make the connection between the two.
The former member of Empire said that there was “no way” that the general people could accept “a stupid rumor,” and that the bulk of the noise was being generated by “haters.”
He elaborated by saying, “They were on a mission.” “I had a strong sense of disconnection from it. ‘What the f— was that?’ is a question that I have not been able to fully comprehend until this very day. However, it was undeniably excruciating. To put it simply, I am not going to sit here and attempt to give the impression to the public that everything is good.
In the years that have passed since then, Smollett has engaged in self-reflection and healing, which he describes as “difficult.” As a matter of fact, he states, “We are still dealing with the consequences that resulted from that perspective.” Each and every day, we continue to struggle with it.
“At the same time, it’s not in my mental and it’s not in my soul, and it’s not in my spirit,” adds Smollett, who, according to TMZ, joined an outpatient rehabilitation clinic in the year 2023. “People are free to say anything they want about you, but no one can control what they say. They are able to do anything they want, even putting you in jail if they really want to. My mind is not something that they can control, but they can control your physical body. They are unable to exert my willpower. In addition to being unable to control my soul, they are also unable to control the information that I possess about who I am.
When Smollett thinks about his “darkest day,” Feb. 21, 2019, the day he was arrested, comes to mind as the day that stands out the most.
“That was a pretty dark day because that’s when everything clicked to me of what was happening,” he says in retrospect. “I have been put through a lot of things that have taxed my strength and a lot of things that have challenged my mental capacity, but there is one thing that I have never lost: I have never begun believing that I am someone than I am. In the end, it was the one thing that did not take place.
Please keep in mind that I was well into my forties at the time that this occurred. Since I am not a 16-year-old or a 20-year-old, it is not the case that this is having an effect on their very being or on who they feel they are. Never in my life have I entertained the notion that I am someone that I am not.
Smollett was on the receiving end of headlines and the conversation around hate crimes at the time of the event, which occurred within the context of the rising political and racial division in the United States. Donald Trump, who had previously served as President of the United States, stated that the actor had “insulted” his “tens of millions” of fans with his “racist and dangerous comments.”
During that time, I was completely aware of how engrossed I was in that talk; nevertheless, I do not know if I was aware of it. To be honest, I didn’t. When he thinks about it, he says, “I was unaware of how much of a political football I was — from both sides.” “Things can’t be stifled because the world is going to keep on spinning.”
Smollett claims that as a result of this, he has “changed my approach a little bit” when it comes to speaking out about “the things that matter” to him and the social justice topics that he is passionate about.
“I have a more adult grown up way of talking about it now, but at the same time, my views have not changed,” he adds, adding that he now tackles things with a “gentler” touch. “I have this more mature and grown up way of talking about it.” “I have not experienced any change in my heart. I am the same guy that I was before, and I will continue to be this way forever. You ought to say something that is worth hearing if a large number of people are listening to what you have to say.
Smollett continues to look forward to the pockets of pleasure that he has established in his life with the assistance of his loved ones, despite the fact that his case is now being heard by the Supreme Court of Illinois in the process of appealing the decision. Their unflinching support has turned out to be a savior in the face of what might have been an otherwise devastating alternative.
Smollett, who made his debut as a filmmaker with the film B-Boy Blues in 2021, expresses his gratitude to those individuals who are aware of an individual’s identity. “I’m grateful for the folks that would stand up and defend me, not because they have to, but because they want to, and because they not only believe in me, but they believe me.”
“I do not take it in a casual manner. My support system consists of some very remarkable individuals, and it is because of them that I am still being here. I am able to tell you with complete candor that I would not be here if I did not now possess them.
To be alive and to be on this road to discover real serenity is something for which I am very thankful. Without the support of my family, the whole world would have consumed me in its entirety.
Today, Smollett is able to have a great number of days that are “filled with light rather than darkness.” A person who is on the outside looking in may believe, “I’m sitting there somewhere just being so sad and crying a couch, all of that type of stuff, but I’m not.” He is aware of this possibility.
Because “I have to move forward,” he no longer wants to continue to focus on things that occurred in the past. On top of that, he says, “I must.”
Smollett says, “I’m not going to sit here and victimize myself and be like ‘Woe is me,’ because there are so many people that don’t have the platform or the resources that I have to protect myself.” He goes on to say that people frequently confess to crimes that they did not commit because they believe that it is “the easier way out.”
In light of the circumstances, I am acutely conscious of the luxury I have. The reason for this is because there comes a point when it’s simply like, I can’t hold on to the agony,” he says while explaining. “That’s why I’m blessed to continue on and make film and make music and do the things that I was put down here by God to do.”
According to the author, this fresh viewpoint “hasn’t always been easy to look at like that.” According to Smollett, there were occasions when he was “so mad and just so bitter about it all.”
“You got to look at those bad moments in your life and think, ‘Huh, if they were to make a two-hour film about my life when I’m done, that would probably be a seven-minute storyline at most,'” said the filmmaker. “All of the other things that you do in your life should be able to hopefully outweigh things that you went through that are really, really difficult.”
As he looks towards to the future, in addition to achieving new milestones in film and music, Smollett’s deepest wish is to become a father in the next five to 10 years.
A kid is what I pray for. Being the kind of person that I am, I believe that I would really feel… I’ll be honest with you: I can’t even fathom the possibility of my life coming to an end without having been a parent. “I simply don’t get it at all. I have a hard time seeing myself without becoming a parent since I am certain that I would be an excellent parent. I am aware of that.”
According to Smollett, this is one of the reasons why he is “still in the game” and battling “in all of this.”
“You got to look at those bad moments in your life and think, ‘Huh, if they were to make a two-hour film about my life when I’m done, that would probably be a seven-minute storyline at most,'” said the filmmaker. “All of the other things that you do in your life should be able to hopefully outweigh things that you went through that are really, really difficult.”
As he looks towards to the future, in addition to achieving new milestones in film and music, Smollett’s deepest wish is to become a father in the next five to 10 years.
A kid is what I pray for. Being the kind of person that I am, I believe that I would really feel… I’ll be honest with you: I can’t even fathom the possibility of my life coming to an end without having been a parent. “I simply don’t get it at all. I have a hard time seeing myself without becoming a parent since I am certain that I would be an excellent parent. I am aware of that.”
According to Smollett, this is one of the reasons why he is “still in the game” and battling “in all of this.”
“I want my future kid to look at me and be like, ‘Yo, he did that. He got through things and he created a world, or attempted to create a world and leave it just a tiny bit, or a lot of it, better than it was when he found it,” he says, laughing. “I just really want my kid to like me and be proud of me. I’m doing all of this stuff is for my kid, for one day them to read this conversation and just be like, ‘Oh, he said that he was doing this for us. And he did.'”
The actor says his desire for children is reflected in the plot of The Lost Holliday, in which he directs and stars as Jason, who becomes a single father to his adopted daughter when his partner Damien (Jabari Redd) is tragically killed in a shooting. The film also stars Vivica A. Fox as Cassandra, Damien’s estranged mother, who travels to Los Angeles to plan the funeral of her son.
Smollett tells PEOPLE of his “biggest” piece of advice for those struggling through hard times, “You got to hold on five more minutes and five more minutes after that. Because if you let go at four minutes and 50 seconds, you’ve missed those 10 seconds that things could have gotten right.”
When asked if he had a message he’d like to share that’s gone unsaid, Smollett replies, “No. And you know why? Because the universe takes care of all things, and the universe shows the truth.”
“You can stuff it down, you could tie a block of cement to the truth, [but] the truth is always going to float to the top. It might take longer depending on what’s holding it down, but the truth will always float to the top.”
“I’ve moved on and I know that the world, one day, and it might be long after I’m gone, who knows, but one day the world is going to fix this. I just can’t wait for that to happen, because I have a life to live,” he concludes. “But the world is going to fix it all.”