More than six years after the headline-making 2019 hate crime hoax, the city of Chicago and Jussie Smollett have finally reached a civil settlement. Instead of paying back the full $120,000 the city spent investigating the fake attack, Smollett has agreed to donate $50,000 to a nonprofit of his choosing.
His pick? Building Better Futures Center for the Arts, a Chicago-based charity focused on providing underprivileged youth with access to mental health support, music, acting, and arts education.
The settlement ends the city’s long-running civil lawsuit against the former Empire star—but comes with no admission of guilt from Smollett.
Back in 2021, he was convicted on five counts of felony disorderly conduct for staging the attack. But in a twist, the Illinois Supreme Court tossed the decision, citing a prior deal Smollett had made with Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx.
At the time, Smollett agreed to forfeit his $10,000 bond and do community service. The state’s decision to vacate his convictions sparked debate, but Special Prosecutor Dan Webb made one thing clear: the court didn’t clear Smollett’s name, just recognized the original deal.
“The Illinois Supreme Court did not find any error with the overwhelming evidence presented at trial that Mr. Smollett orchestrated a fake hate crime,” Webb said in a statement.
