After his sentence was read out, Jussie Smollett was given the opportunity to speak before the court (via the New York Post). The actor started by repeating that he was “not suicidal” before adding that if anything were to happen to him while he was in custody, “I did not do it myself and you must all know that.”
Smollett went on to protest his innocence, saying that if he did stage the hate crime he would have “shoved my fist in the fears of Black Americans in this country for over 400 years and the fears of the LGBTQ community.” In response, Judge James Linn told the actor that he was “not the victim of a racist hate crime” or a “homophobic hate crime,” and that he was “just a charlatan pretending to be the victim of a hate crime and that’s shameful especially.”
He went on to call Smollett “profoundly arrogant,” “selfish,” and “narcissistic” and that his performance on the witness stand was “pure perjury.”
If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
