Jussie Smollett Pays $50K to Settle City of Chicago’s Lawsuit, Still Maintains Innocence

Jussie Smollett’s legal drama with the city of Chicago is now over. The Empire actor has agreed to pay $50,000 to a charity to settle the civil lawsuit the city had filed against him relating to his alleged hate-crime hoax.

In January 2019, Smollett told Chicago police he’d been physically attacked by two men, saying the men also yelled homophobic attacks and put a noose around his neck. Then Cook County prosecutors charged Smollett with disorderly conduct for allegedly staging the attack with brothers Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo, who claimed he paid them to perpetrate the attack, as the Chicago Tribune recaps.

“Over six years ago, after it was reported I had been jumped, city officials in Chicago set out to convince the public that I willfully set an assault against myself,” Smollett wrote on Instagram in an announcement of the settlement. “This false narrative has left a stain on my character that will not soon disappear. These officials wanted my money and wanted my confession for something I did not do. Today, it should be clear… They have received neither.”

 

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Weeks after the alleged attack, the office of the Cook County State’s Attorney dropped the charges against Smollett, though the city of Chicago tried to recoup $130,160 in police overtime spent on the investigation. A judge-appointed special prosecutor filed new charges against Smollett in 2020, a jury convicted him on five of six counts of disorderly conduct in 2021, and he was sentenced to 150 days in jail, 30 months of probation, and $130,160 in restitution in 2022. In November 2024, however, the Supreme Court of Illinois overturned Smollett’s convictions and dismissed the case after deciding the special prosecutor’s decision to retry the case violated the actor’s rights.

Now that Smollett and the city have agreed to terms in the civil lawsuit, he has settled his last legal matter in Chicago, the Tribune reports.

“The decision to settle the civil lawsuit was not the most difficult one to make. After repeatedly refusing to pay the city, I was presented with an opportunity to make a charitable donation in exchange for the case being dismissed. Despite what happened there politically, Chicago was my home for over five years, and the people became my family. Therefore, making a donation to benefit Chicago communities that are too often neglected by those in power will always be something I support.”

Smollett told Instagram followers he has already sent $50k to the charity of his choosing, the Building Brighter Futures Center for the Arts, which helps underprivileged youth become self-sustaining adults.

The actor said that he’s aware that the state Supreme Court decision and the new lawsuit settlement won’t change everyone’s mind about him. “However, despite arduous and expensive attempts to punish me, I am innocent in the eyes of God and our criminal justice system,” he said. “What I have to do now is move forward.”

Smollett, who directed and starred in the 2024 drama film The Last Holliday, said he’ll continue creating art, fighting for causes he believes in, and defending his integrity and family name. And, he said, he’s aware he has been privileged to have the resources to defend himself. “So many do not,” he said. “They are backed into corners to take deals or confess to crimes they did not actually commit. In their honor, I am donating an additional $10,000.00 to the Chicago Torture Justice Center, [which] provides resources to communities healing from the violence of the Chicago Police Department.”

He then concluded his Instagram post, writing, “To anyone who has had to prove they have in fact been violated, you know how difficult this can be to navigate. I stand with and for you. To everyone who has supported me, thank you. Your prayers and belief in me mean more than words can properly express. I will never take it lightly and will never forget. Onward.”