Jussie Smollett

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Jussie Smollett Pleads Not Guilty
Jussie Smollett
Enters His Plea

Jussie Smollett Enters His Plea

As his TV dad looks on in support

(Newser) - Jussie Smollett pleaded not guilty Thursday to 16 charges of lying to authorities. The Empire actor, 36, is accused of staging a racist and homophobic attack on himself Jan. 29. His TV father, Terrance Howard, was in the Chicago courtroom Thursday to support Smollett, Fox News reports. Smollett, who is...

Why Jussie Smollett Decided to Attend Today's Hearing

He wanted 'to show confidence in his innocence,' rep says

(Newser) - Jussie Smollett was not required to be in court Tuesday, but the Empire actor appeared at the Chicago hearing because "he's not hiding from anything," his rep tells NBC Chicago . "He wants to hold his head up high, show confidence in his innocence." The hearing...

Jussie Smollett Just Got Hit With 16 More Felonies

Grand jury delivers bad news to actor accused of staging attack

(Newser) - The news isn't getting any better for Jussie Smollett. A grand jury on Friday indicted the Empire actor on 16 felony counts related to his alleged staging of an attack on himself in Chicago, reports NBC News . Smollett already had been charged with one felony count of filing a...

SNL Does Not Spare Jussie Smollett
SNL Does
Not Spare
Jussie Smollett

SNL Does Not Spare Jussie Smollett

And has a bit of fun with Michael Cohen

(Newser) - Saturday Night Live pulled no punches on Jussie Smollet in a Shark Tank: Legal Edition sketch that featured the embattled actor, along with New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, vying for legal representation from the likes of Pete Davidson's Michael Avenatti, Cecily Strong's Jeanine Pirro, guest host John...

Activist Charged in House Fire Investigated as Hate Crime

Michigan police call hoax on 2017 blaze

(Newser) - A Michigan gay rights activist and former Citizen of the Year has been charged with setting his home ablaze in what was first investigated as a hate crime. The 2017 fire killed five pets, the Detroit News reports. Nikki Joly, a transgender man, had received death threats prior to the...

Smollett's 'TV Dad' Responds to Allegations

Terrence Howard says his co-actor 'could never even conceive' of faking an attack

(Newser) - "All your lil homies got you. We love the hell outta you." That's Empire star Terrence Howard's caption on an Instagram video of Jussie Smollett playing with a small child—possibly Howard's son, USA Today reports. Howard, who plays Smollett's father on the Fox...

Report: Smollett Didn't Pay $3,500 for Fake Attack

Seems the 'Empire' actor only paid for physical and health training

(Newser) - Jussie Smollett may not have paid the Nigerian brothers to attack him after all. Unidentified sources "connected to the case" tell TMZ that the $3,500 check to Abel and Ola Osundairo was only to get the Empire actor pumped up for a music video. Smollett said he needed...

Empire Producers Make Move to 'Avoid Further Disruption'

Jussie Smollett axed from final two episodes of this season

(Newser) - One of the first places Jussie Smollett headed after being released on bond Thursday was back to work, showing up on the set of Empire to reportedly shoot some scenes and plead his case with the cast and crew. It looks like he won't be doing that again anytime...

Sources: Jussie Smollett Begs Empire Cast to Believe Him

Actor's legal team releases new statement asserting his innocence

(Newser) - After being released on bond Thursday, Jussie Smollett quickly returned to the set of Empire, sources tell the Hollywood Reporter . Fox officials released a statement after Smollett's arrest that they were "evaluating the situation and ... considering our options," and sources say those options include keeping Smollett's...

Cops: Jussie Smollett Paid Accomplices by Check
Cops: Jussie Smollett Paid
Accomplices by Check
the rundown

Cops: Jussie Smollett Paid Accomplices by Check

The latest on 'Empire' actor's arrest

(Newser) - Details continue to trickle out regarding Jussie Smollett's allegedly faked attack , and the latest is a weird one: Police say the Empire actor used a check to pay the two brothers he allegedly hired to pretend to be his attackers, CBS Chicago reports. Police said Ola and Abel Osundairo...

Chicago Cops Reveal Actor Smollett's Alleged Motive

They say he staged attack because he was unhappy with his 'Empire' salary

(Newser) - He wanted a better salary. That's the alleged motive of Empire actor Jussie Smollett for staging a fake assault on himself, according to Chicago police. Chief Eddie Johnson told reporters Thursday that the 36-year-old actor wasn't happy with what he was making on the Fox show and thought...

Jussie Smollett Turns Himself In
Jussie Smollett
Turns Himself In

Jussie Smollett Turns Himself In

Actor faces felony charges after being accused of faking own attack

(Newser) - Empire actor Jussie Smollett will have a whole new kind of audience on Thursday: He faces a bail hearing after turning himself into police, reports CNN . Smollett "is in under arrest and in custody of detectives," tweeted Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi. The bail hearing is set for...

Jussie Smollett Case Takes a New Turn
Jussie Smollett Case
Takes a New Turn

Jussie Smollett Case Takes a New Turn

Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx recuses herself from the investigation

(Newser) - The Jussie Smollett case has taken another turn, and it's one that doesn't come with much explanation. Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx on Tuesday recused herself from the investigation, and offered a one-sentence explanation via a rep: "Out of an abundance of caution, the decision...

Police Get a New Tip in Jussie Smollett Case
Elevator Tip Dismissed
in Jussie Smollett Case
UPDATED

Elevator Tip Dismissed in Jussie Smollett Case

As Cook County prosecutor recuses herself from investigation

(Newser) - Chicago police investigated but dismissed a tip that on the night Empire actor Jussie Smollett reported being attacked by two masked men he was in an elevator of his apartment building with two brothers later arrested and released from custody in the probe, a department spokesman said Tuesday. Police spokesman...

Report: Jussie Smollett 'Paid $3.5K for Attack'

Brothers arrested in case say they're 'not anti-Trump

(Newser) - The two brothers arrested last week in connection with the alleged attack on Jussie Smollett broke their silence with a statement Monday—but they didn't address reports that the Empire actor orchestrated the attack . "We are not racist. We are not homophobic and we are not anti-Trump,"...

Cops Trying to Schedule Jussie Smollett Interview
Views Are Shifting on 
Jussie Smollett Case
the rundown

Views Are Shifting on Jussie Smollett Case

Police hope to re-interview the 'Empire' actor

(Newser) - The ever-twisting Jussie Smollett case is reportedly headed to a grand jury amid allegations that the actor orchestrated a fake attack on himself with the assistance of two Nigerian brothers. Smollett insists it wasn't a hoax, but don't expect quick resolution. Chicago police want to re-interview the Empire...

TMZ: Jussie Smollett Case Going to Grand Jury

Police say they're still waiting for 'follow-up interview'

(Newser) - The increasingly strange and tangled Jussie Smollett case will be heard by a grand jury this week, according to TMZ , which cites law enforcement sources. The sources say police are keeping an eye on two brothers arrested and released in the case, because they want to make sure the Empire...

Sources Claim Big Twist in Jussie Smollett Investigation

They say police are looking into whether the actor orchestrated the attack

(Newser) - "Nothing is further from the truth and anyone claiming otherwise is lying," said lawyers for Empire actor Jussie Smollett in reference to reports credited to unnamed sources that police are investigating whether the actor orchestrated the Jan. 29 attack on himself. That's what CNN , NBC News , the...

Yet Another Development in Jussie Smollett Case

Pair arrested have now been released, with Chicago cops saying new evidence has emerged

(Newser) - Chicago police released without charges two Nigerian brothers arrested on suspicion of assaulting Empire actor Jussie Smollett, saying they have new evidence to investigate as a result of questioning them, per a brief statement Friday by Chicago police rep Anthony Guglielmi. He gave no details of the new evidence, per...

2 Arrests Made in Jussie Smollett Case

They're 'potential suspects,' but they haven't been charged yet, per Chicago police

(Newser) - The "strange turn" that the Jussie Smollett case took this week now has another development. On Thursday, there was pushback from the Chicago Police Department on an ABC7 report, which cited unnamed CPD sources as suggesting the Empire actor had somehow been in on staging his own alleged assault....

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