Jussie Smollett was recently sentenced to 150 days in jail after being found guilty of staging a homophobic, race-based attack in 2019. Along with receiving jail time, Smollett will reportedly have to serve 30 months of felony probation. The actor’s brother Jocqui took to Instagram to give an update, saying Jussie was placed in a psych ward. Many have given their take on Smollett’s situation, and now former ‘Empire’ castmate Taraji P. Henson has delivered a message supporting Jussie.
Henson posted a graphic saying “#FreeJussie,” and delivered a caption saying, “I am not here to debate you on his innocence, but we can agree that the punishment does not fit the crime.” She then made a correlation to Carolyn Bryant, the white woman who lied about the Emmett Till situation, resulting in the young boy’s death by lynching.
Henson continued saying, “Emmett Till was brutally beat and ultimately murdered because of a lie, and none of the people involved with his demise spent one day in jail, even after Carolyn Bryant admitted that her claims were false. No one was hurt or killed during Jussie’s ordeal. He has already lost everything, EVERYTHING!”
The actor concluded her thoughts by saying “To me as an artist not able to create that in itself is punishment enough. He can’t get a job. No one in Hollywood will hire him, and again as an artist who loves to create, that is prison. My prayer is that he is freed and put on house arrest and probation because in this case that would seem fair. Please #freejussie.” Take a look above.
