Jussie Smollett Reportedly Enters Rehab Following “Extremely Difficult” Years
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Jussie Smollett has reportedly entered rehab after going through challenging times throughout the past few years, according to TMZ.
Per one of the actor’s reps, the 41-year-old has entered an outpatient program due to an “extremely difficult past few years.” It has not been made clear what Smollett has entered rehab for.
“He has quietly been working very hard for some time now and we are proud of him for taking these necessary steps,” the source reportedly said.
The Skinny star’s rehab entry comes on the heels of his ongoing appeal for his Chicago criminal case. In March 2020, Jussie received jail time and probation for staging a hate crime with the Osundairos, and also filing a false police report about the incident. As a result, Smollett received 30 months of felony probation, with 150 days of incarceration.
He was also ordered to pay $120,106 in restitution and a $25,000 fine. After serving less than a week in jail, he was eventually released pending an appeal of his conviction.
Back in 2019, Smollett — who identifies as part of the LGBTQ+ community — alleged that while on his way home from a Subway sandwich shop, two men attacked him. His reports also included that the masked men yelled racist and homophobic slurs at him, assaulted him, and also put a rope around his neck and drenched him in bleach.
Since the discovery of the hoax, Smollett lost many deals including his role as Jamal Lyon on Fox’s Empire show. At the time, a few of his co-stars spoke out in his defense.
“We miss Jussie,” Taraji P. Henson told PEOPLE in 2019. “He’s family to us. There’s no way we can throw five years of family away. I miss him.”
Smollett finally made a red carpet appearance in 2021 during the screening of his directorial debut B-Boy Blues in New York City. He shared how “humbled” he was by the showing.
“To see all the love for the film is crazy beautiful,” he wrote on Instagram following the event. “More to come while I catch up but to everyone who came out last night with so much love and community … on behalf of everyone @bboybluesthefilm, Thank you. We love y’all. Now to find a home for it so the whole world can see.”
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