It was a little interesting years for Jussie Smollett, but the former Empire star is back on the scene to advance his directorial debut … just before he is scheduled to be tried for, well, you know.
Over the weekend, Smollett made one of his first public appearances since the infamous 2019 incident in which he was accused of committing a hate crime in Chicago to make public his career. His walk on the red carpet at Harlem’s Magic Johnson Theater came at the unveiling of “B-Boy Blues”. his first knife in directing, and a push to return to Hollywood before his legal proceedings.
From People.com
Smolett’s appearance in the screening of the film came just days before the actor was confronted with the jury for the accusations of disorderly conduct against him regarding the alleged hate crime in which he had stated that he was involved in 2019.
The actor’s lawyers recently tried to dismiss the case, but a judge rejected the proposal last month, NBC News reported. The trial is set to begin on November 29.
Smollett, an openly gay black actor, was initially charged in March 2019 with 16 counts of disorderly conduct for allegedly submitting a false report in Chicago, when he claimed that two men attacked him on January 29, 2019, while launching racist and homophobic scandals. He pleaded not guilty to allegations that he lied to police about the incident, which authorities claimed he had organized with two acquaintances to draw attention to himself.
“B-Boy Blues” is a classic literary black in the mid-90s, the first bestseller by author James Earl Hardy. It is considered a fundamental work of fiction to explore a homosexual romantic relationship between black men at a time when LGBTQ + people were facing more open homophobia. The book was the first in a series of five with similar themes, the last of which was published in 2002.
Smollett is also producing the film through his company, SuperMassive Movies, according to Deadline. Protagonists of the film singer Ledisi and veterinarians Timothy Richardson, Thomas Mackie and Brandee Evans.
His trial in Illinois is on the calendar for November 29, after a judge last month refused to hear the charges at a hearing.
