Jail officials moved former “Empire” star Jussie Smollett to a psychiatric ward after deeming him a risk of self-harm, according to an outraged brother of the actor.
Two days after Jussie was sentenced to five months at Cook County Jail in Chicago for lying to police about a homophobic and racist attack, the actor’s sibling Jocqui Smollett slammed his placement in a psych ward as “a complete lack of justice.”
“What’s very concerning is that there was a note attached to his paperwork today and clipped on the front of his jail cell saying that he’s at risk of self-harm,” Jocqui said Saturday in an Instagram video.
“I want to just make it clear to folks that he is in no way, shape or form at risk of self-harm,” he continued. “He wants to let folks know … that he is very stable, he is very strong, he is very healthy and ready to take on the challenge that ultimately has been put up against him.”
Jussie’s sentencing took place Thursday, more than three years after the actor told police he was attacked by two men who hurled racist and homophobic slurs at him, put a rope around his neck and poured a chemical on him in January 2019.
An investigation led to Jussie being accused of staging the incident by paying two brothers to attack him. In December, Jussie was found guilty on five counts of disorderly conduct for lying to police.
Jussie, 39, has maintained his innocence. After receiving his sentence last Thursday, the actor declared he “is not suicidal.”
“If anything happens to me when I go in there, I did not do it to myself,” he said at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse.
In the Instagram video, Jocqui also stressed his brother’s innocence and condemned him being moved to the psych ward.
“This is not right,” Joqui said. “This is completely lack of justice. It’s angering. It’s an outrage.”
Officials with the Cook County Jail have not publicly commented on Joqui’s claim.
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Is there room for the Biden administration?
Let it leak that he has dirt on hillary.. THEN He will have no problem, arkansiding himself..
“If anything happens to me when I go in there, I did not do it to myself,”
With this POS that is tantamount to telling us he is going to do something to himself and blame the jail. They did the correct thing to prevent that. The term is MO.
He’ll blend in eventually. Many jails separate those will LGBTQ background from general population. More embarrassed than anything and his acting career may take a hit. Others have did time and survived. He’ll be OK. Appears he gambled (publicity stunt) and crapped out.