Jussie Smollett resolved his civil dispute with Chicago and donated $10,000 to a police violence support group following his 2024 exoneration.
Jussie Smollett closed a chapter in his years-long legal saga Tuesday (May 21) by settling a lawsuit with the city of Chicago and announcing a $10,000 donation to a nonprofit that supports survivors of police violence.
The former Empire actor, 41, agreed to pay $50,000 to Building Brighter Futures Center for the Arts, a Chicago-based group that mentors underserved youth through creative programs.
The payment resolves a civil case brought by city officials seeking reimbursement for the cost of investigating Smollett’s widely publicized 2019 assault claim, which police later alleged was staged.
Smollett also revealed he made a separate $10,000 contribution to the Chicago Torture Justice Center, an organization that provides mental health and legal support to victims of police misconduct.
The donation came with a pointed message.
“I’m grateful to have had the resources to defend myself. So many do not. They are backed into corners to take deals or confess to crimes they did not actually commit,” Smollett wrote in a statement posted to Instagram.
“Though I was exonerated by the Illinois Supreme Court in a unanimous decision and the civil case will now be dismissed, I’m aware that it will not change everyone’s mind about me or the attack I experienced,” he added.
Smollett’s legal troubles began in January 2019 when he told police he was the victim of a racist and homophobic assault in downtown Chicago.
Weeks later, authorities accused him of orchestrating the incident and charged him with multiple counts of felony disorderly conduct. He was convicted in 2021 but maintained his innocence throughout.
In a major reversal, the Illinois Supreme Court overturned his conviction in 2024, citing procedural errors during the prosecution.
The ruling cleared Smollett of criminal wrongdoing, though public opinion remains divided.
Declaring himself “innocent in the eyes of God” and the “criminal justice system,” Smollett said he hoped his donation would help communities “healing from the violence of the Chicago Police Department.”
“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,” he wrote.
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