WOODLAWN — A brand new Netflix documentary will debunk costs that actor Jussie Smollett’s reported hate crime assault in Chicago was staged, the embattled entertainer instructed Block Membership throughout a go to to the South Aspect Monday.
Netflix is anticipated to launch “The Reality About Jussie Smollett?” Aug. 22, Deadline reported Tuesday. The 90-minute documentary follows the occasions and aftermath of the “Empire” actor’s 2019 declare that he was the sufferer of a racist and homophobic assault Downtown whereas on the town filming, based on Deadline.
Police and prosecutors later mentioned Smollett staged the assault, and a jury convicted him of submitting a false police report in 2022. The Illinois Supreme Court docket overturned his conviction final yr. His authorized battle with native authorities seemingly got here to an finish earlier this yr, when he donated to native organizations as a part of a settlement with town to recoup prices for investigating his reported assault.
The case could have concluded, however Smollett continues to be working to clear his identify. Whereas touring native organizations to which he has donated Monday, Smollett mentioned the documentary accommodates beforehand unreleased footage proving he didn’t stage the 2019 assault.
“It’ll make sense when y’all watch it. They discovered the precise footage of the people who jumped me, and it simply corroborates each single factor that I’ve mentioned for the final nearly seven years,” Smollett instructed a small crowd of group leaders and prison justice advocates at a non-public occasion Monday on the Chicago Torture Justice Heart, 6337 S. Woodlawn Ave. in Woodlawn. Smollett donated $10,000 to the middle in Could.
Netflix describes “The Reality About Jussie Smollett?” as a “stunning true story of an allegedly faux story that some now say may simply be a real story,” based on Deadline.
The documentary contains beforehand unreleased footage of the 2019 incident obtained by investigative journalists by the Freedom of Data Act, Smollett mentioned. He needed the footage included as proof in his authentic 2021 trial, however mentioned it was obtained too late by his authorized workforce. He declined additional touch upon the footage.
“[The footage] was dropped at my attorneys a pair days earlier than we began trial and so they had been like, ‘Yeah, we already acquired our protection, so it’s too late to carry that in, we will’t do something about it,’” Smollett mentioned. “They didn’t go along with the reality. They went with defending towards the lies.”
Fox, HBO Max and Discovery have all launched documentaries about Smollett’s authorized battles. The upcoming Netflix documentary is the primary by which he’s participated and given an interview, Smollett mentioned.
The manufacturing firm Uncooked, owned by All3Media, is behind the brand new documentary, and it’s directed by Gagan Rehill of “Ashley Madison: Intercourse, Lies & Scandal,” based on Deadline.
On Monday, Smollett additionally visited the Constructing Brighter Futures Heart For The Arts, 1512 S. Pulaski Highway in North Lawndale, to which he donated $50,000 in Could as a part of town settlement.
Whereas talking to college students on the West Aspect middle, Smollett was candid about what life has been like for him within the aftermath of his authorized battles.
“I used to be scared, to be fairly sincere with you, to return right here as a result of … it’s a activity to exist in your personal pores and skin generally, particularly when issues have been mentioned otherwise you don’t know what individuals assume once you come into a brand new house,” Smollett mentioned.
Reflecting on his profession and his love for Chicago, Smollett mentioned his relationship with town is nice, regardless of the controversy.
“It sort of chased me out of town, if you’ll, however I by no means was chased away by the individuals … The individuals present love. I’m good on these Chicago streets,” Smollett mentioned. “It genuinely makes me unhappy that [in] a spot that I like so deeply, there was such an enormous try to show this place towards me.”
Assembly with prison justice reform advocates and former inmates on the Torture Justice Heart, Smollett talked about how he may greatest use his superstar standing to carry consciousness to wrongful convictions. He acknowledged he “had it a lot simpler” spending six days in Cook dinner County Jail for his 2022 conviction in comparison with individuals represented by the Justice Heart, a few of whom spent many years in jail.
“How are you going to seek for justice for one thing that ought to by no means have even occurred to start with?” Smollett mentioned. “You continue to really feel in some way such as you’re asking for forgiveness for one thing you didn’t even do.
“You all are the true ones which have actually been by this in a a lot deeper method than I’ve and also you see it on a regular basis.”
Whereas his future within the leisure business is unclear, Smollett mentioned he plans to make use of his platform to “make individuals really feel much less alone.”
“If that’s now the mission of people that have been by the sort of state of affairs, incarceration or the prison justice system that’s coming after them and attempting to set them up … then that’s what my new mission is,” he mentioned.
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