What Happened to ‘Special Forces’ Star Jussie Smollett? Looking Back at His Controversy

For years, Jussie Smollett has been dealing with the fallout of a 2019 incident that led to legal troubles and controversy. Now, he’s a contestant on Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test, which he’s said he hopes is a “reset” for him.

During the premiere episode on September 25, Smollett maintained his innocence in the ordeal, telling cameras, “I was called a liar with everybody believing something that was not true.”

As his journey on the course continues, we’re looking back at everything that happened to Smollett. Scroll down for a refresher.

What happened to Jussie Smollett?

In January 2019, Smollett reported to the Chicago police that he had been attacked by men who also made racist and homophobic slurs at him. He claimed that he was punched in the face, had a rope wrapped around his neck, and had an unknown chemical substance poured down his back during the attack.

A few weeks later, Obabinjo (Ola) and Abimbola (Abel) Osundairo, who had served as extras on Smollett’s Fox show Empire, were arrested as persons of interest. Despite growing speculation that Smollett had staged the attack on himself, police saw no evidence to support this at this time.

However, days later, they released the brothers and noted that the direction of the investigation was shifting. By February 20 2019, police charged Smollett with disorderly conduct and filing of a false police report. He was arrested the following day, with police claiming he “took advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career.” Police speculated that Smollett allegedly staged the crime because he was not happy with his salary and said that he paid the Osundairo brothers $3,500 to stage the attack.

Smollett pled not guilty to the charges against him during his March 2019 court date. By March 26, the charges against him were dropped, with prosecutors noting, “After reviewing all of the facts and circumstances of the case, including Mr Smollett’s volunteer service in the community and agreement to forfeit his bond to the City of Chicago, we believe this outcome is a just disposition and appropriate resolution to this case.”

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Chicago police and the Mayor of Chicago announced that they did not agree with the decision. The prosecutor admitted that he thought Smollett was guilty of staging the crime, but said the charges were dropped because of the actor’s $10,000 bond forfeit and community service.

The following month, Smollett was sued by the city of Chicago for not paying police to cover the cost of overtime that was spent investigating the attack. Police maintained that they still felt Smollett was guilty, but he filed a countersuit against them. He reached a settlement in this case in 2025 (more on that below).

In February 2020, six new charges of lying to the police were brought against Smollet. His trial began in November 2021, during which he insisted he was innocent. A jury found Smollett guilty of five of the counts against him in December 2021.

In November 2024, Smollett’s conviction was overturned. A judge found that Smollett should not have been charged in 2020 after the initial charges against him were dropped.

Did Jussie Smollett go to jail?

In March 2022, Smollett was sentenced to 150 days in jail and ordered to pay $145,000. He spent six days behind bars before he was released because his lawyers filed an appeal in the case.

The lawyers spent more than two years working on their appeal before taking it to court and getting the judge to overturn it in November 2024. At the time, the judge explained, “We are aware that this case has generated significant public interest and that many people were dissatisfied with the resolution of the original case and believed it to be unjust.”

He continued, “Nevertheless, what would be more unjust than the resolution of any one criminal case would be a holding from this court that the State was not bound to honour agreements upon which people have detrimentally relied.”

How much did Jussie Smollett settle for?

In May 2025, Smollett reached a settlement with the city of Chicago for the civil case brought against him. Per the settlement, he agreed to pay $50,000 to a charity in Chicago, as opposed to the $130,000 that the city was asking him to fork over to police for time spent on the investigation.

Smollett’s donation was to the Building Brighter Futures Center for the Arts, which supported underprivileged youths.

“The City believes this settlement provides a fair, constructive, and conclusive resolution, allowing all the parties to close this six-year-old chapter and move forward,” a spokesperson said at the time.

Smollett spoke out about his decision to settle in a now-deleted Instagram post. “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. This false narrative has left a stain on my character that will not soon disappear,” he wrote, per ABC news. “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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He called the settlement a “difficult” decision to make, but added, “Making a donation to benefit Chicago communities that are too often neglected by those in power will always be something I support.”

What is Jussie Smollett doing now?

While Smollett was fired from Empire after the scandal, he has since returned to acting and working behind-the-scenes of productions. In 2024, he starred in the film The Lost Holliday.

He also opened up about the controversy in the 2023 docuseries Jussie Smollett: Anatomy of a Hoax and the 2025 Netflix documentary The Truth About Jussie Smollett? Additionally, he released his album Break Out in September 2025.

Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test, Season 4, Thursdays, 9/8c, Fox