Jussie Smollett has a $300,000 net worth as an actor, singer, and photographer in the United States. From 2015 until 2019, he was most recognized for his main role on the television series “Empire.”
He is also well-known for his involvement in a bizarre “assault” episode that occurred in Chicago in 2019. Later in the text, I’ll go over the occurrence in more detail.
Early Life
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Justin Smollett, commonly known as Jussie, was born on June 21, 1982, in Santa Rosa, California. Janet (née Harris) and Joel Smollett are his parents. He is the youngest of five siblings, with three brothers and two sisters.
When he was two years old, his family relocated to New York City, where they resided in the Elmhurst district, before returning to California when he was seven, and then to New Jersey.
Smollett attended Paramus Catholic High School in Paramus, New Jersey, and graduated with honours.
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Career
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Smollett started his modeling career as a kid in New York City. From there, he worked as an extra in New York-based films such as “Mo’ Better Blues” (1990) and “New Jack City” (1991). (1991).
He appeared in the films “The Mighty Ducks” (1992) and “North” (1994), and then in the ABC comedy “On Our Own” from 1994 to 1995, with all five of his real-life siblings.
He remained out of the limelight until 2012 when he made a comeback as the lead character Magnus in the LGBTQ romantic comedy-drama “The Skinny.”
In the same year, he appeared in an episode of “The Mindy Project” as a guest star, and in 2014, he starred in an episode of “Revenge.” Smollett then earned the part of Jamal Lyon, a homosexual artist from a musical family, on the Fox drama “Empire” in 2014. Taraji P.
Henson and Terrence Howard were among his co-stars on the program. He featured on the program from seasons 1 to 5, however, his appearances in the last two episodes of the fifth season were cut owing to the Chicago “attack” scandal he was embroiled in at the time.
He also acted in the program “Underground,” which starred his younger sister, Jurnee Smollett, while acting on “Empire.”
Smollett has explored a musical career in addition to his acting endeavors. In 2012, he published his debut EP, “The Poisoned Hearts Club.”
He then revealed in 2015 that he had signed a recording deal with Columbia Records. “Sum of My Music,” his first studio album, was published in 2018 on his own label Music of Sound.
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Smollett also co-wrote numerous original songs for his program “Empire,” including “I Wanna Love You” and “You’re So Beautiful,” which can be found on the “Original Soundtrack from Season 1 of Empire” CD (2015).
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Chicago “Attack” Incident and Aftermath
Smollett stated to authorities on January 29, 2019, that he had been assaulted by two white individuals wearing ski masks.
The assailants allegedly placed a rope around his neck, poured gasoline on his body, beat him, and screamed insults about his ethnicity and sexual orientation at him, according to him.
According to his account, the assailants recognized him from Empire and exclaimed “this is MAGA country,” a reference to President Donald Trump’s campaign slogan “Make America Great Again.”
Over the next several weeks, the Chicago Police Department discovered that Smollett was most likely engaged in the planning of the assault, which was carried out by two brothers who knew him from their time as extras on Empire.
According to reports, the brothers were paid $3500 to orchestrate the assault. Smollett was charged with a class 4 felony for making a fake police report by a grand jury in February 2019. After then, he surrendered to the Chicago Police Department.
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All of the accusations against him were dismissed in March, but in April, the city of Chicago initiated a case against him, and a Cook County grand jury indicted him on six separate counts. Smollett pled not guilty both times accusations were brought against him.
Following the event, Fox executives confirmed on April 30, 2019, that Smollett will not be returning for season 6 of “Empire.”
Fox allegedly agreed to pay Smollett a settlement for his season 6 contract, but he will not appear on the programme. In other words, he’s being compensated for not working on the programme that season.
Smollett addressed the incident in a rare interview on September 9, 2020. On an Instagram live session, he discussed the subject with author and activist Marc Lamont Hill and insisted on his innocence.
Jussie was sentenced to 150 days in prison for lying to the police on March 10, 2022. He must also serve 30 months of felony probation and pay the city of Chicago $120,106 in reparations.
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Personal Life and Real Estate
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During a televised interview with television personality Ellen DeGeneres in March 2015, Smollett officially came out as homosexual. Smollett paid $1.687 million for a property in Los Angeles in 2016. In July 2019, he sold the house for a $30,000 loss.