Jussie Smollett is an American actor, filmmaker and singer. He began his career as a child actor in 1991 debuting in The Mighty Ducks (1992). From 2015 to 2019, Smollett portrayed musician Jamal Lyon in the Fox drama series Empire.
In January 2019, Smollett claimed to have been a victim of a hate crime, but police later determined that he had staged the attack with two acquaintances. He was initially charged with filing a false police report, but charges were dropped after he completed community service and forfeited $10,000. In 2020, a special prosecutor re-indicted him, and he was convicted on five counts in December 2021. He was sentenced to jail in March 2022, although his release was ordered after six days.