Jussie Smollett Reveals His 'Darkest Day' Amid Faked Hate Crime Allegations, Talks Moving On & Appealing Charges

Jussie Smollett opened up about the allegation that he faked a hate crime and his “darkest day” through it all.

If you forgot, the 42-year-old actor and director was sentenced to 150 days in jail after being convicted of faking faking a racial and homophobic hate crime in 2019. He continues to maintain his innocence and is actively appealing the ruling.

He was in jail for six days before being released pending the appeal process.

In a new interview, Jussie discussed how he has responded to the situation and more.

Keep reading to find out more…

Speaking to People, Jussie said that he was “numb” when he saw the accusations that the hate crime was faked.

“I didn’t know how to connect the dots. I really genuinely did not know. I couldn’t make sense of what was going on, and I couldn’t make sense of what people were actually thinking … what exactly do they think happened? I couldn’t put two and two together,” he said, accusing “haters” of creating the “stupid rumor”

Jussie said that the “darkest day” through it all was when he was arrested in February 2019.

“That was a pretty dark day because that’s when everything clicked to me of what was happening,” he explained.

He added that despite the challenges, he “never started thinking that I am somebody that I’m not.”

“Keep in mind, I was deep in my thirties when this happened,” he said. “This isn’t like I’m a 16-year-old or a 20-year-old, [where] this is impacting their very being of who they believe that they are.”

The actor also acknowledged that he had the ability to “protect” and defend himself, unlike others in similar situations. Jussie said that sometimes people don’t fight allegations because saying that they are guilty is “the easier way out.”

Amid it all, he added that the goal is to move forward. He was confident that the world would also eventually do the same.

“I’ve moved on and I know that the world, one day, and it might be long after I’m gone, who knows, but one day the world is going to fix this. I just can’t wait for that to happen, because I have a life to live,” he said. “But the world is going to fix it all.”

Jussie added, “People can say what they want about you, but they have no control. They can do whatever they want, they can even put you behind bars. They can control your physical, but they can’t control my mind. They can’t control my spirit. They can’t control my soul, and they can’t control the knowledge that I have of who I am.”

Read more about Jussie‘s appeal.