Jussie Smollett settles with city of Chicago 6 years after alleged hate crime hoax

More than six years after actor Jussie Smollett said he was the victim of a hate crime in Chicago that he was later accused of staging, the actor has reached a settlement with the city.

Both parties have advised the court that they have settled but “need more time to finalize documentation,” according to a court document filed Monday and obtained by Entertainment Weekly.

Reps for Smollett said any comment on the matter would be “premature.” City officials did not respond to EW’s request for comment.

The city of Chicago filed a lawsuit in 2019 against the Empire star, alleging he cost investigators $130,000.

That January, the actor claimed that he had been attacked by two men he didn’t know using racist and homophobic slurs as they threw a rope around his neck and poured a substance on him. (Smollett, who is Black, came out as gay in 2015, after playing a gay character on the Fox series.)

He also claimed the assailants shouted “MAGA” at him in a nod to Donald Trump, who was serving his first term as president.

Initially, the Mighty Ducks actor was hospitalized and the incident was investigated as a hate crime. The Chicago Police Department found evidence, though, that Smollett was working in cooperation with the alleged attackers and that he had paid them.

Smollett denied the accusations and filed a countersuit against the city, but he was indicted by a grand jury on 16 felony charges. Those charges were later dropped, after Smollett’s team made a deal with prosecutors. However, the case against him was then executed by a special prosecutor, and this time he was convicted.

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly’s free daily newsletter to get breaking news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

He appealed that decision, and the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that he should not have been tried a second time.

The next status hearing, according to the document, is May 29.

Since the saga began, Smollett lost his role on Empire, which ended in 2020, and has acted in one other project, 2024’s The Lost Holliday, which he also wrote and directed, alongside a cast including Vivica A. Fox and The Office alum Leslie David Baker.