In 2019 Jussie Smollett reported an attack in Chicago that he said was carried out by two white men, while investigators later accused him of hiring two Black men to stage the incident. He was convicted of felony disorderly conduct in 2021 but had his conviction overturned in 2024, leaving significant career and reputational harm. Interviews involve Smollett, investigating Chicago police, the two accused men, and two independent witnesses who support Smollett's account. Intense media attention and a polarized social and political climate complicated fact-finding, and the presentation of both sides leaves judgment to viewers.
It was one of the wildest news stories of 2019: The attack of Empire star Jussie Smollett late one night in Chicago, an assault he claimed was perpetrated by two white men, even after the Chicago police department accused him of hiring two Black men to fake the incident. In 2021, Smollett was found guilty of felony disorderly conduct, all while he proclaimed his innocence - in 2024, his conviction was overturned, but the damage to his career and reputation remained.
What stands out clearly is how impossible the social and political climate at that time made it for the actual facts to emerge: As Smollett says in the documentary, once the media frenzy around his attack began, "It was like playing whack-a-mole with rumors, with lies. You can't catch them all." While objective truth might be impossible to find in times like these, The Truth About Jussie Smollett? director Gagan Rehill does a clear job of presenting both sides of the incident and letting the audience decide for themselves.
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