Empire star Jussie Smollett hasn’t been in the news as much in recent weeks, however, the actor is now speaking out to his social media followers in light of the coronavirus crisis.
Jussie Smollett Breaks His Silence
After almost a year of social media silence, the actor made his first post to Instagram. “Hope y’all are staying safe,” Smollett posted. “Spread love and kindness… not Rona.”
The actor’s most recent post previous to this one was 39 weeks ago — back in June of 2019. He’s been laying low on Instagram following his exit from Empire. The show made the decision not to bring his character, Jamal Lyon, back for the show’s final year following reports that Smollett fabricated the attack on him in Chicago over a year ago.
Smollett wrote that it’s “Quarantine day 421…” in his post. Is that a joke about how long the last week or so has seemed? Perhaps, but the NY Daily News notes that it’s been 421 days since Smollett’s alleged attack on January 29, 2019.
In his post, Smollett sings Steve Wonder’s A Place in the Sun, earning him kudos from his followers. One, @mikeg_nitevision, wrote: “Amazing record … Your beard should be much longer after 421 days.”
Last month, Smollett stood before the Illinois Supreme Court and pled not guilty to six criminal charges related to his allegedly false claims of having been attacked in a hate crime last year.
Smollett’s lawyers argued that he should not be charged for the same crimes twice due to “double jeopardy.” However, prosecutors shot down that argument saying Smollett was never prosecuted in his original case.
Originally, Smollett was due back in court on March 18, but there’s been no update on if that court appearance took place or was delayed due to the coronavirus or another reason.
According to Worldometer, there are reportedly 458,662 coronavirus cases with 20,799 deaths, and 113,776 individuals have recovered. For more info on the coronavirus check out the Center for Disease Control website. Empire, currently in its final season, airs Tuesdays on Fox at 9 p.m. ET.
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