Jussie Smollett opened up about his 2019 hate crime attack in a interview with activist Marc Lamont Hill on Wednesday.
The former “Empire” star appeared in an Instagram Live with Hill, during which he discussed his ongoing trial.
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“It’s been beyond frustrating, and I certainly am not going rogue,” he said about the case. “I’m still taking the advice of my attorneys and everything like that, but I don’t really see, honestly, what staying quiet has really done, like, where it has gotten me. … It’s so much bigger than me.”
Smollett was charged last year with 16 felony counts for falsifying a police report claiming two men attacked him on Jan. 29, 2019 in Chicago, while spewing racist and homophobic slurs. The charges were dropped after he agreed to forfeit his bond. A special prosecutor charged him again in February.
Two Nigerian brothers claim they were paid by the actor to carry out the attack.
In February, Smollett pleaded not guilty to a six-count indictment that was revived the special prosecutor.
He continues to maintain his innocence.
“They won’t let this go,” Smollett told Hill. “It doesn’t matter — there is an example being made. And the sad part is that there’s an example being made of someone who did not do what they are being accused of.”
Smollett said his legal team filed a motion against his indictment, which is set to be reviewed in court on Thursday.
“I believe I have to give it up to God,” he said.
“From the very, very beginning, it was set up to seem like I was lying about something or everything,” he explained, adding… “there would be no reason for me to do this.”
Smollett makes clear that he does not want to “be portrayed as a victim.”
Watch the full interview via the Instagram clip above.
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