The City of Chicago has officially filed a lawsuit against “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett following his failure to cover the cost of the investigation into his alleged hate crime attack.
On Thursday, just hours after pictures surfaced of Smollett soaking up the sun in Hawaii, city officials filed a civil lawsuit in Cook County court against the actor, in the wake of his Jan. 29 claim that he was beaten by masked men, who hurled racist and anti-gay slurs. According to reports, the move comes upon Smollett’s refusal to reimburse the city for the cost of the investigation that, according to police, revealed Smollett staged the attack on himself.
In fact, police weren’t the only city officials that believed Smollett staged the attack. Although prosecutors dropped all criminal charges against the actor for allegedly staging the crime, they made it clear that the decision was not an exoneration. Instead, according to reports, prosecutors said it was standard practice for filing false reports.
But despite the dismissal of charges, the city is determined to be reimbursed for their time. However, according to The Hollywood Reporter, the lawsuit does not include a specific amount, but it does suggest that it will be more than $130,000, as the city now has the opportunity to triple that amount under city code.
