Celebrities are sharing their thoughts about the latest, stunning legal development forJussie Smollett.
On Tuesday, all charges against the actor stemming from accusations that he lied to police about an alleged hate crime attack against him earlier this yearwere dropped.
“TOLD YALL,” wroteRootsleader Questlove in a succinct message, while actorGeorge Takeisaid that Smollett’s case was a good example on why it’s important not to betoo quick to rush to conclusions.
“There are lots of things we apparently should not pre-judge before we have all the facts, like Jussie Smollett (all charges dropped?!) and the Mueller report (not yet public!!)” he wrote.
Director Ava DuVernay, who had previously spoken out on behalf of Smollett, went on to share one of her previous tweets about the case.
“Despite the inconsistencies, I can’t blindly believe Chicago PD. The department that covered up shooting Laquan McDonald over a dozen times? That operated an off-site torture facility? That one? I’ll wait. Whatever the outcome, this won’t stop me from believing others. It can’t,” she wrote in February.
“I’ll just be putting this right here,” shewrotealongside the month-old message.
A handful of Smollett’sEmpirecolleagues have also celebrated the news.
Alongside a screenshot of a television news story, theEmpirewriters tweeted out a winky face emoji, adding “See y’all Wednesday.” (That is the day when the show airs on Fox.)
Shortly after the news was announced, Smollettbriefly spoke to reportersat the Cook County courthouse in Chicago.
“I’ve been truthful and consistent on every single level since day one,” theEmpireactor said. “I would not be my mother’s son if I was capable of doing what I was accused of.”
Smollet’s family also issued a public statementon his behalf.
Jussie Smollett outside a Chicago courthouse on Thursday.Matt Marton/AP/Shutterstock
Jessie Smollett.Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty
Smollett’s attorneys Tina Glandian and Patricia Brown Holmes said in a statement released to the media Tuesday that the star’s “record has been wiped clean of the filing of this tragic complaint against him.”
The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office confirmed the charges against Smollett had been dropped.
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If Smollett had been been tried and found guilty of falsifying a police report, the Class 4 felony carried a potential sentence of up to three years in prison.
source: people.com
