Jussie Smollett’s emotional rollercoaster of the last few years has taken its toll and the Empire star has reportedly now checked into rehab.
According to TMZ, reps for Smollett confirmed that the actor and singer entered an outpatient program at a rehab treatment facility earlier this week.
AD LOADING...
“Jussie has had an extremely difficult past few years,” the source relayed. “He has quietly been working very hard for some time now and we are proud of him for taking these necessary steps.”
Smollett was the subject of a 2019 hate crime hoax in Chicago where he alleged a pair of Trump supporters tied a noose around his neck in an attack.
AD LOADING...
It turned out to be a fake coordinated “attack” where all involved were paid actors. The 41-year-old was found guilty of felony disorderly conduct from lying to police and sentenced to 150 days behind bars and 30 months probation in December 2021, although he only ended up serving six days after posting a $150,000 bond in March 2022.
It’s unclear what Jussie Smollett is checking into rehab for but his alleged “attackers” — the Osundairo brothers — claimed to also be his drug dealers when they took the stand in court. The case is still tied up in the Chicago court system as an ongoing appeal.
Smollett’s name was dragged through the mud in the Hip Hop world when 50 Cent alleged that Megan Thee Stallion was pulling a “Jussie Smollett” when lying about being shot in the feet by Tory Lanez in 2020 because of her previous romantic relationship with the R&B singer.
50 admitted he was wrong and ended up apologizing to Meg in January during an appearance on Big Boy’s Neighborhood.
AD LOADING...
“I’m gonna apologize to Megan Thee Stallion,” 50 said. “I said some things, and it was because… On social media I posted things that, when she was with Gayle [King], she said: ‘Were you intimate with Tory Lanez?’ And she said: ‘What?’ and it was like, ‘No.’ And I was like, ‘Ah, she lying.’
“At that point I knew she was lying, it wouldn’t be no reason for them to be around each other. From that it felt like she was lying – to me.”
