Actor Jussie Smollett was sentenced last week to 150 days in prison, prompting mixed feelings from those who have followed his three-year legal battle. After reporting himself as the victim of a racist and homophobic hate crime in January 2019, the attack was later revealed to be a hoax, eventually resulting in five felony convictions for Smollett. Now, Smollett’s friends and allies are arguing that he shouldn’t serve time in jail.
Smollett’s former Empire co-star Taraji P. Henson is the most prominent person to voice her support, sharing a message on Instagram with the hashtag #FreeJussie. “I am not here to debate you on his innocence but we can agree that the punishment does not fit the crime,” she wrote.
“Emmett Till was brutally beat and ultimately murdered because of a lie and none of the people involved with his demise spent one day in jail, even after Carolyn Bryant admitted that her claims were false. No one was hurt or killed during Jussie’s ordeal.” She goes on to argue that Smollett has already been punished enough because he has “lost everything” due to the scandal.
Elsewhere on social media, many people were understandably offended by Hanson drawing comparisons between Smollett and Emmett Till.
For a long time, public opinion was split on whether Smollett’s attack was real or staged. But as the case wore on, more people accepted the likelihood that Smollett had staged a hate crime for attention, making him a uniquely controversial figure.
Taraji P. Henson’s statement acknowledges this issue, arguing that even if Smollett is guilty, he doesn’t deserve to be incarcerated. Smollett has made it clear that he fears for his life, saying at his sentencing hearing, “I am not suicidal. If anything happens to me when I go in there, you must all know that.”
Actors Indya Moore and Kendrick Sampson also posted on the #FreeJussie hashtag, as did Smollett’s sister Jurnee Smollett. All three cited racism in the criminal justice system, with Jurnee Smollett also making it clear that she believes her brother is innocent. “Black Americans are incarcerated in state prisons at nearly five times the rate of White Americans,” she wrote. “Jussie is innocent. And…you don’t have to believe in his innocence to believe he should be free.”
But despite these statements (and some behind-the-scenes support from Samuel L. Jackson and Alfre Woodard), public opinion doesn’t seem to be swinging in Jussie Smollett’s favor. On Twitter and Instagram, the #FreeJussie hashtag is split between people supporting and condemning Smollett–and the non-celebrity posts aren’t gaining much traction.
