Illinois appeals court affirms actor Jussie Smollett's convictions and jail sentence

An appeals court on Friday upheld the disorderly conduct convictions of actor Jussie Smollett, who was accused of carrying out a racist, homophobic attack on himself in 2019 and then lying about it to Chicago police.

Smollett, who appeared on the TV show “Empire,” disputed the role of a special prosecutor, jury selection, evidence and many other aspects of the case. But all were dismissed in a 2-1 opinion by the Illinois Appellate Court.

Smollett had reported to police that he was the victim of a racist and homophobic attack by two men wearing balaclavas. The manhunt for the attackers quickly turned into an investigation into Smollett himself, leading to his arrest on charges that he orchestrated the attack.

Authorities said he paid two men he knew from work on “Empire.”

A jury convicted Smollett in 2021 on five felony counts of disorderly conduct, a charge that can be filed in Illinois if someone lies to police.

He will now have to serve a 150-day jail sentence that was part of his sentence. Smollett spent just six days in jail while his appeal was pending.

Lawyers for Smollett, who is black and gay, have publicly argued that he was targeted by a racist justice system and by people playing politics.

Appellate Judge Freddrenna Lyle said she would have dismissed Smollett's convictions. Lyle said it was “fundamentally unfair” to appoint a special prosecutor and charge Smollett when he had already performed community service as part of a 2019 deal with Cook County prosecutors to drop the initial charges.

“It was common sense for Smollett to negotiate a full resolution of the matter, not just a temporary resolution,” Lyle said.

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See The AP's full coverage of the Jussie Smollett case.