Jurnee Smollett Angry At Sibling Jussie Smollett's Conviction: 'You Don’t Have To Believe In His Innocence'

Despite the Jussie Smollett case findings and eventual conclusion, Jussie Smollett and his siblings are adamant that a mistake was made. The actor filed a report to the police concerning a racial and homophobic attack directed at him in early 2019. The report was later found to be false and staged.

He was indicted on several counts of disorderly conduct by March that year, and it was all dropped that same month. Smollett was made to face the charges in 2020. On Thursday, the case rounded up with Smollett receiving 30 months probation with 150 of those days spent in jail. He would also pay some fines in addition.

Following the case’s conclusion, the “Empire” actor stood and declared to the courtroom that he was innocent, then dropped an additional cryptic message. His siblings obviously share the same belief. Smollett’s sister, Jurnee, recently posted on Instagram, saying her brother was innocent, and added a hashtag that read "FreeJussie."

Several people had a lot to say about Smollett’s trial following the actor’s sentencing. The 39-year-old’s sister spoke up days after the trial concluded, supporting her elder brother in an Instagram post. In the post on Saturday, she called for the release of her brother with the hashtag “#FreeJussie.”

The posted image had a black background with the hashtag written in white. The caption read, “Black Americans are incarcerated in state prisons at nearly five times the rate of White Americans. Jussie is innocent.”

The “Birds of Prey” actress concluded with, “And… you don’t have to believe in his innocence to believe he should be free.” The 35-year-old added another hashtag which read, “StopLockingUpOurPeople.”

Smollett made the famed police report in January 2019, now three years later, the case has come to a close, although not the way he expected. The actor was accused of filing false police reports and, just days ago, was sentenced to jail and probation.

The entire sentence includes 30 months probation with 150 days spent in jail. The “Empire” actor would also pay a $120,106 fine in restitution to the city and an extra $25,000. Judge James Linn, the judge handling the case, meted out the sentence with a few harsh words, saying Smollett’s actions were “profoundly arrogant, selfish and narcissistic.”

While Smollett was silent for most of the trial, the actor had a few words for the courtroom when the sentence was read. He stood, took off his mask, and announced his innocence once again. He also added, “I am not suicidal, and I’d anything happens to me when I go [to jail], I didn’t do it to myself, and you must all remember that.”

Smollett’s initial report to the police detailed an attack from two masked men black-clothed men. The attackers were apparently saying racist and homophobic slurs to the actor then proceeded to put a rope around his neck.

After a detailed investigation, the Cook County authorities determined that the actor was lying. This spurred the false report case against the 39-year-old. Smollett was indicted for around 16 counts of disorderly conduct in March.

The charges were dropped that month with the suspected involvement of top Chicago attorney Kim Foxx. However, it was revived not long after by special prosecutor Dan Webb. In 2020 the charges were once again brought up against Smollett.

Besides Jurnee, Smollett’s other siblings spoke out about the sentence saying that the judge made the decision while unaware of what he was “dealing with.” Via E!, Smollett’s older brother Jojo Smollett said, “[The judge] shamed my brother; he spoke about his arrogance. He doesn’t know the struggles my brother is encountering. He doesn’t know anything that he’s dealing with.”

His sister Jazz Smollett, aged 41, also chimed in, saying, “This should not be a controversial statement because it is the absolute truth. What should be controversial is the entire miscarriage of justice his whole ordeal has been.”

Jazz added that she hoped the “peace of God” would be with her brother and everyone who had experienced “oppression and hate.” Smollett’s younger sibling Jussie also had some words for the situation. He claimed that his brother was the victim and was being jailed for simply being attacked.