Disgraced actor Jussie Smollett professed his innocence, insisting he is “not a piece of shit”.
Smollett, who allegedly paid two men to impersonate racist and homophobic Donald Trump supporters and attack him with a noose and bleach, was jumped from a Chicago jail in March after serving a six-day prison term. .
Addressing his highly publicized trial on Sway Calloway’s SiriusXM show, “Sway in the Morning,” the 40-year-old actor claimed he was not lying about the attack.
“If I’d done this, I’d be a piece of shit. And I don’t think that’s really questionable,” Smollett said in the episode that aired Monday.
Smollett – best known for his role as Jamal Lyon in Fox’s “Empire” – said he is a black gay man making it impossible for him to stage the attack.
“Had I done something like that, it would have meant putting my fist into the pain of black African Americans in this country for over 400 years,” he told Sway.
“It would mean sticking my fist at the fears of the LGBTQ community around the world. I’m not that motherf-eh. Never been. Doesn’t have to be.”
Smollett appeared to wipe the sweat from his forehead several times during the interview, saying he used his six-day stay in the Cook County jail as an opportunity to “reset and gain clarity” through fasting.
“I did not fast before Lent. I was fasting because that’s what we do in my family, we fast for clarity,” he said, adding that he’s never been “as clear as I was in those six and a half days.”
The actor said the support he received from his family, especially his mother, has helped him through his week behind bars.
“My family – the most wonderful people – I live and die for those people. Let me tell you something, mommy ain’t going nowhere. Mom is a house cat.
“She said, ‘Look how I stay in LA and my baby is in Chicago.’ She didn’t play,” he said, fighting back tears.
Smollett shared his experience of being locked up in a cell for six days and said he was thrown into a psychiatric ward.
“Lord knows I wanted out. I was in the psychiatric ward… I slept on a restraint bed, but I wasn’t restrained,’ he said.
“I have to keep it real, everyone inside was really nice and when I left I thanked them all. I said, ‘I don’t know what you all think, but the fact that you haven’t let me know what you think, anyway and you’ve just shown me respect that I’m grateful for.’”
Smollett said he had to “surrender” to himself during his brief stint in prison.
“There’s something about being in there and you have no choice but to surrender yourself. Not against the system, not against a judge or a bunch of old white men who ironically explain the history of hate crime to you, but you surrender to yourself,” he said. “You stay there with you, your thoughts and these walls.”
“I believe the prison system needs to be dismantled,” he added.
Smollett was initially sentenced to five months in prison following his conviction on five counts of disorderly conduct for lying to police. He was ordered to pay the City of Chicago $120,000 in restitution and a $25,000 fine after being found guilty.
Defense attorneys argued that Smollett was twice unconstitutionally charged for the same crime after the Cook County State Department originally agreed to drop his case in 2019.
During the interview with Sway, Smollett’s boyfriend and “B-Boy Blues” co-star Brandee Evans joined the fun, gushing about her friendship with the troubled actor.
“This is really my friend,” Evans said. “I love Jussie. Jussie has been my ride or die. When my ex-husband left me, I was literally at Jussie’s house. I love my boyfriend, he’s been through everything with me.”
Smollett rose to fame at a young age, landing roles in such films as “The Mighty Ducks” and “North” at the age of 10.
Hailing from California, the child star starred in ABC’s “On Our Own” from 1994 to 1995 with his five real-life siblings.
Smollett later landed a starring role in Patrik-Ian Polk’s LGBT-themed comedy-drama “The Skinny.”
After making his name in Hollywood, the actor guest-starred in “The Mindy Project” in 2012 and “Revenge” in 2014.
Later that year, Smollett landed the part of his life in “Empire” opposite Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard. His character was cut from the last two episodes of the show’s fifth season due to his hate crime controversy.