Six years after alleging he was the target of a hate crime, actor Jussie Smollett continues to contest the claims by Chicago authorities that the incident was a “hoax.”
“The Truth About Jussie Smollett?,” a new Netflix documentary premiering Thursday, explores the legal saga linked to the supposed attack, which both police and municipal officials assert he staged.
Despite the documentary airing just over three months post-Smollett’s civil settlement with the city of Chicago, the actor predominantly utilizes his interview segments to assert his innocence and uphold his defense.
Smollett states in the documentary, “Ultimately, whether I’m liked or not is irrelevant,” emphasizing, “the truth is: I didn’t do that. And that’s the only thing that counts.”
Initially, in January 2019, Smollett, who identifies as Black and gay, reported an incident in which he claimed two men assaulted him while using racial and homophobic insults, put a rope around his neck, and doused him with bleach.
Contrarily, city officials accused Smollett of filing a fraudulent police report on Jan. 29, 2019, claiming he conspired with his known assailants to stage the attack. The resulting city lawsuit demanded $130,000 for the police investigation costs. In response, Smollett filed a countersuit, denying he had masterminded the attack.
Brothers Olabingo and Abimbola Osundairo, who worked on the “Empire” set and authored a book titled “Bigger Than Jussie: The Disturbing Need for a Modern-Day Lynching,” said they were paid by Smollett to stage the hate crime and testified against the actor during his trial.
In addition to Smollett, the documentary features interviews with: Smollett’s attorney; former Chicago police officials; the Osundairo brothers; their attorney; and journalists who covered the case.
“I believe he wanted to be the poster boy of activism for Black people, for gay people, for marginalized people,” “Bola” Osundairo said of Smollett in the documentary.
“Ola” Osundairo said when Smollett asked them to “beat him up,” he “thought it was crazy.” “But at the same time, I’m like, ‘It’s Hollywood.’ This is how it goes,” he said in the documentary.
Smollett was found guilty on five criminal counts of felony disorderly conduct in December 2021 and sentenced to 150 days in jail and 30 months’ probation in March 2022. But the Illinois Supreme Court overturned the conviction in November 2024.
The state high court ruled that Smollett should have never been charged in the first place after entering a nonprosecution agreement with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.
The years-long case captivated the country, with many speculating about what actually happened as Smollett continued to make headlines.
In the documentary, Smollett said he was “playing whack-a-mole with rumors, with lies” throughout the investigation.
But, “at a certain point, it’s too many, and you can’t catch them all,” he added.
The documentary, which is from the producers of “The Tinder Swindler,” says in its promotional materials that it wants the “audience to decide for themselves who is telling” the truth.
Smollett has not commented on the documentary on his social media. He gave a lengthy interview to Variety ahead of its release, in which he touched on the overall impact the case had on him.
“Every single other person’s story has changed multiple times. Mine has never,” Smollett told the publication. “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 actor is currently promoting his new R&B album and was recently announced as a contestant on the reality show, “Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test.” The show airs on Fox, the same network that canceled “Empire” in the aftermath of the Smollett saga.
