Hate crime hoaxer and disgraced actor Jussie Smollett has entered a rehab treatment facility nearly five years after he was convicted for staging a racist, homophobic attack against himself and then lying about it to the Chicago police.
“Jussie has had an extremely difficult past few years. He has quietly been working very hard for some time now and we are proud of him for taking these necessary steps,” a representative for Smollett told TMZ.
The representative added that the Empire actor is in an outpatient program at the facility.
Smollett has entered rehab amid his ongoing appeal in his Chicago criminal case.
In January 2019, the actor claimed he was physically attacked by two men wearing red hats who put a rope around his neck, poured bleach on him, and shouted racial and homophobic slurs at him, before eventually yelling, “This is MAGA country!” in reference to former President Donald Trump’s campaign slogan.
Last year, Judge James Linn sentenced Smollett to 150 days in jail, 30 months of probation, restitution of $120,106, and a fine of $25,000 after the actor was found guilty of lying to Chicago police.
“You’re just a charlatan, pretending to be a victim of a hate crime,” Judge Linn told Smollett during sentencing, adding that the actor’s name “has become an adverb for ‘lying,’” and that “there is nothing that I will do here today that can come close to the damage you’ve already done to your own life.”
While being hauled off to jail, Smollett repeatedly shouted, “I am not suicidal! And I am innocent!” Days later, Smollett’s brother said the actor had been placed in a psych ward at the Cook County jail.
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