May 24, 2025
Jussie Smollett has finally reached a settlement with the city of Chicago, and looks “onward” to putting the alleged hate crime hoax behind him.
Jussie Smollett has agreed to pay $50,000 to a Chicago-based charity to settle a lawsuit the city filed over his alleged hate crime hoax.
The settlement, reached on May 22, allows Smollett to resolve the lawsuit by donating $50,000 to Building Brighter Futures Center for the Arts, an organization that supports Chicago’s underprivileged youth, BBC reports. The donation is significantly lower than the $130,000 the city of Chicago initially sought to recoup its investigation costs.
“The city believes this settlement provides a fair, constructive, and conclusive resolution, allowing all the parties to close this six-year-old chapter and move forward,” a spokesperson for the law department said in a statement.
The agreement marks the end of a six-year legal battle after Smollett claimed he was the victim of a racist and homophobic attack in 2019. In a case marked by dramatic twists, Smollett was ultimately charged with filing a false police report about the alleged hate crime, an accusation he has consistently denied.
Although the charges were eventually dropped, the Empire actor has consistently professed his innocence and denied that the attack was fake. Following the settlement, Smollett shared a lengthy statement on social media reaffirming his stance and voicing his support for the $50,000 donation to the Chicago-based charity.
“Over six years ago, after it was reported I had been jumped, city Officials in Chicago set out to convince the public that I willfully set an assault against myself. This false narrative has left a stain on my character that will not soon disappear,” Smollett said. “These officials wanted my money and wanted my confession for something I did not do. Today, it should be clear. They have received neither.”
The actor continued. “After repeatedly refusing to pay the city, I was presented with an opportunity to make a charitable donation in exchange for the case being dismissed. Despite what happened there politically, Chicago was my home for over five years and the people became my family. Therefore, making a donation to benefit Chicago communities that are too often neglected by those in power will always be something I support.”
RELATED CONTENT: Jussie Smollett On His Return With Film ‘The Lost Holliday’: ‘Black Women Saved Me When I Felt Unlovable’
