Actor Jussie Smollett has reached a settlement with the City of Chicago, agreeing to donate $50,000 to a local youth organisation to close a years-long legal dispute stemming from allegations he staged a hate crime in 2019.
The agreement ends a civil lawsuit the city filed in 2019 seeking to recoup $130,000 — the estimated cost of police resources used to investigate the alleged attack. In return for dropping the lawsuit, Smollett will contribute to Building Brighter Futures Centre for the Arts, a community organisation supporting underserved youth through creative education and outreach.
Chicago’s Law Department confirmed the deal on Thursday, calling it “a fair, constructive, and conclusive resolution” to a highly publicised and polarising saga. “This settlement allows all parties to close this six-year-old chapter and move forward,” a department spokesperson said.
Smollett, best known for his role on Empire, was convicted in 2021 for staging a racist and homophobic attack against himself. However, in a surprise move last year, the Illinois Supreme Court overturned the conviction, ruling that Smollett had been prosecuted twice for the same offence — violating protections against double jeopardy. The ruling did not address the substance of the charges.
Smollett has long maintained his innocence. He originally told police he was attacked by two men using racial and homophobic slurs while walking to a Subway restaurant near his Chicago apartment in January 2019. He claimed the attackers poured bleach on him, wrapped a noose around his neck, and shouted, “This is MAGA country!”
Investigators later identified the alleged attackers as brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo, who testified that Smollett had paid them to stage the assault in an attempt to generate publicity and gain leverage in contract negotiations for Empire.
While Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx initially dropped charges, public backlash led to the appointment of a special prosecutor who refiled them. Smollett then sued the city for malicious prosecution, asserting that the attack was genuine.
The new settlement marks a turning point in one of the most controversial legal stories in recent entertainment history. With this agreement, both Smollett and the city have effectively agreed to move on without further litigation.
