Empire

Jussie Smollett believes there's one overarching reason he was sent to jail, and it's not because of the hoax ... he says it's because he's Black.

Sources with direct knowledge and in constant touch with the "Empire" actor tell TMZ ... Jussie fully expected to get jail time. He told his defense team before sentencing he felt he would be treated more harshly than other defendants convicted of a non-violent crime ... all because of the color of his skin. He thinks it's more evidence of systemic racism in the judicial system.

Jussie told his team after sentencing he was dead-on when he predicted the outcome ... based on the animosity the judge showed toward him. He called it "unfortunate" and "sad."

As you know, the judge read Jussie the riot act, saying the hoax was rooted in a desire for more fame and more attention.

We reached out to the court for comment, and a rep for the Cook County Chief Judge's Office tells TMZ ...  "Judges can't comment on pending cases, and it's still pending."

As we reported ... Jussie will be held in protective custody -- as requested -- while serving his time behind bars, with security cameras and an officer with a body-worn camera monitoring his cell.

Our sources say Jussie spoke out in court about not being suicidal because he wanted to make it clear to the public that if something were to happen to him in jail, it was foul play ... and our sources referenced the Jeffrey Epstein outcome, and that was what was on Jussie's mind when he made the comment.

Jussie Smollett will be held in protective custody -- as requested -- while serving his time behind bars.

Judge James Linn ordered the actor's 150-day jail sentence, and specified he'll serve it under protective custody. According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Judge Linn says Smollett and his team requested the protection.

The goal of protective custody is to protect an inmate from any form of harm while they serve their time.

Smollett was immediately taken into custody following Thursday's sentencing. A rep for Cook County Sheriff’s office told us Smollett was given a medical and mental health assessment by Health services, as well as a security assessment upon getting locked up.

As we reported, Smollett erupted after his sentence -- which also included 30 months of felony probation, $120K in restitution and $25K in fines -- was handed down ... reiterating he isn't a suicidal person, and if something happens to him while he's in custody, he wants the world to know he didn't do it to himself.

Jussie's maintained his innocence the entire time -- even after being found guilty -- and still insisted he did not hire the Osundairo brothers, Abel and Ola, to stage the "attack" on a chilly Chicago night.

The City of Chicago has also sued Jussie in a separate civil action over the resources spent investigating his claims, which is being pegged at $130,000.

Jussie Smollett's courtroom outburst isn't landing for Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot ... who is praising his 5-month jail sentence, condemning him for staging a hate crime and hoping his case is a warning to others.

After Jussie's sentencing, where he shouted he's innocent and left with a fist in the air, Mayor Lightfoot was totally unswayed, saying ... "The city feels vindicated in today's ruling that he is being held accountable and that we will appropriately receive restitution for his actions."

She also reminded everyone what that restitution will cover -- "The malicious and wholly fabricated claim made by Mr. Smollett resulted in over 1,500 hours of police work that cost the city over $130,000 in police overtime."

In other words, the Mayor's certain Smollett got exactly what he deserves at Thursday's sentencing.

Judge James Linn gave the ex-"Empire" actor 150 days in prison, 30 months of probation, a $25k fine and restitution of over $120k.

You'll recall ... Jussie told police he was the victim of a racist homophobic attack, back in 2019. He claimed 2 white men called him slurs, poured chemicals on him and put a noose around his neck.

Of course, brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo, who are Black, told cops the actor paid them to stage the entire "attack."

Jussie Smollett was just sentenced to 150 days in Jail for his elaborate hoax on the streets of Chicago ... and Jussie went off on the judge, telling him if he dies in prison it's not suicide. It got so intense, Jussie was taken into custody and left with his fist in the air.

Judge Linn just handed down the sentence ... which also includes 30 months felony probation, $120,106 restitution to the city of Chicago and will pay a $25,000 fine.

Judge Linn pointed to Jussie's testimony during trial, when he talked about his life ... and he talked about social justice and how much it meant to him and his family.  And, the judge noted the irony and hypocrisy that Jussie engineered a hate crime hoax.

Judge Linn says Jussie wasn't motivated by money ... he did it because he craved the attention and thought he could boost his profile by tapping into the social justice movement in America. He said he just wanted to make himself more famous, throwing himself a "national pity party."

The judge called Jussie arrogant, selfish, narcissistic, and he did damage to real victims of hate crimes. Victims are always reluctant to come forward, and Jussie did them no favors. The judge says Jussie lied ... lied and lied repeatedly about the incident.

The judge made it clear he was not sentencing Jussie to satisfy public opinion ... it was purely a matter of what Jussie did.  The judge said there was nothing he could do that would be worse than what he did to himself, saying Jussie destroyed his life by his shenanigans.

Jussie declined to speak in open court before sentencing ... his lawyer advised against it.

Jussie's 92-year-old grandma got on the stand to plead for leniency, and she launched on the media for not reporting the story accurately. She called him a "justice warrior," who has been steeped in social activism for years. She told the judge, if he sends Jussie to prison he should send her along with him.

The lawyer for the City of Chicago made it clear ... this was not a victimless crime, saying more than 30 Chicago cops investigated the case and had to review more than 1500 hours of surveillance video. They went door to door in the freezing cold to get to the bottom of the case. They amassed more than 1,000 in overtime, and it caused fatigue and stress. The lawyer also said Jussie has made real hate crime victims hesitant to come forward.

Jussie's lawyer made a series of arguments during the hearing, imploring the judge to throw out the verdict. Notably, his lawyer argued because of the pretrial publicity by City officials -- including the Police Commissioner -- Jussie did not enjoy the constitutional protection of being presumed innocent. The judge rejected that argument.

The judge also turned thumbs down on the argument Jussie was entitled to a public trial and that, his lawyer argued, was not the case. The special prosecutor fired back, even during a pandemic, the trial was open to reporters and also, the defense didn't want cameras in the courtroom during the trial, so it's rich they're making this argument now.

Jussie Smollett wants a do-over in court, he's asking for a new trial in Chicago and taking issue with the initial jury selection process -- but he'd also willing to accept a not-guilty verdict.

The actor's defense team just filed new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, asking the judge to reverse the verdict and find him not guilty of disorderly conduct for faking a police report ... or at least give him a new trial.

Remember ...  a jury in Illinois decided Jussie was lying to cops about being the victim of a homophobic and racist attack. The jurors found the "Empire" actor guilty of 5 of the 6 felony counts against him, including disorderly conduct charges or allegedly providing a false report to cops.

In the docs, Jussie claims the court violated his constitutional rights when it prevented his defense team from actively participating in the jury selection process.

Jussie claims his lawyers were not allowed to ask questions of potential jurors ... and his defense claims the jury pool for the high-profile case was tainted.

He's also claiming prosecutors showed a pattern of racism in selecting jurors.

In the docs, Jussie's defense also claims the judge wrongfully barred the media and public from the courtroom ... and he says prosecutors pressured witnesses to give false testimony.

That's not all ... Jussie's legal team also says the judge wrongfully limited the defense questioning of witnesses.

Lindsey Pearlman, the "Empire" and "General Hospital" actress who was found dead in her car Friday ... had a history of depression before committing suicide ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Lindsey called her husband, Vance Smith, the day before her body was found, saying she was intent on ending her life. Her husband contacted police in a frantic effort to find Lindsey. He never saw her alive again.

We're told Lindsey drove to the base of Runyon Canyon in Hollywood -- a popular hiking spot -- and swallowed enough pills to fatally overdose. A hiker came upon her car last Friday, saw her body inside and called police.

We've learned Lindsey left a suicide note at her home and also left a note in her car ... telling whoever found her to call 911.

Investigators learned Lindsey suffered from bouts of depression over the years, and it appears it just became too overwhelming.

After her body was found, Lindsey's sister posted the phone number of the National Suicide Hotline on social media and said, "Please know that you are never truly alone."

The Los Angeles County medical examiner's office says an autopsy was performed but they are requesting more tests and studies before determining an official cause of death, but our law enforcement sources say it's apparent it was a drug overdose.

Lindsey Pearlman, the actress with credits that include "Empire" and "General Hospital" was found dead 3 days after disappearing ... the LAPD now confirms.

The body of the 43-year-old was found Friday at the base of Runyon Canyon Park in Hollywood ... a very popular hiking spot. Her body was discovered inside a car.

The cause of death has not been released, but Saturday Lindsey's sister said on Twitter, "Please know that you are never truly alone," as she posted the phone number to the National Suicide Hotline.

Pearlman, who also appeared on "Chicago Justice," "The Ms. Pat Show," and "Selena," was last heard from Thursday afternoon. She called her cousin and phone data shows the call was made a mile-and-a-half from where her body was discovered.

Lindsey's husband, Vance Smith, said, "The police found Lindsey. She's gone. I'm broken."

The family says to honor Lindsey -- an animal rights advocate -- please donate to the Sante d'Or, an L.A,-based animal rescue org.

The jury didn't buy Jussie Smollett's claim he was the victim of a racist-homophobic attack, but the leaders of Black Lives Matter certainly do ... and the org. is sticking by the actor.

BLM and BLM LA released a statement before the verdict, in support of the "Empire" actor, saying ... "So let’s be clear: we love everybody in our community ... we can never believe police, especially the CPD over Jussie Smollett, a Black man who has been courageously present, visible, and vocal in the struggle for Black freedom."

Now, after Jussie's been found guilty, BLM LA leader Melina Abdullah tells us that stance hasn't changed -- Jussie has their full support. Abdula says the organization refuses to abandon its people and stands on the principle that the justice system is corrupt.

Smollett's former "Empire" costar, Bryshere Gray, is standing by his friend as well, telling us, "My prayers, love and support is unwavering for my brother Jussie and the Smollet Family."

Smollett was found guilty Thursday on 5 of 6 felony counts of lying to Chicago PD.

From the jump, Jussie denied claims he staged the 2019 attack ... sticking to his story when he reported it to police with the rope still around his neck.

Jussie now faces a possible 3-year prison sentence, but considering he has no prior criminal record ... it's unclear if he'll get any time behind bars.

Jussie Smollett is guilty of lying to Chicago cops, and the world, about being the victim of a racist and homophobic attack, according to the jury -- or said more simply ... it was all a hoax.

Jurors found the "Empire" actor guilty of 5 of the 6 felony counts against him, and he stood stone-faced in court as the verdicts were read. Jussie was facing disorderly conduct charges for allegedly providing a false report to police ... with prosecutors ringing him up for each time he did it.

The first 5 counts were for lying on Jan. 29, 2019 to cops -- that's the night of the staged attack. The 6th, of which he was found not guilty, was for a separate interview with Chicago PD on Feb. 14 when he told a detective he was a victim of aggravated burglary.

The verdicts finally put the criminal side of this saga to bed. Jussie had maintained his innocence for years, insisting he did not hire brothers, Abel and Ola Osundairo to stage the racist and homophobic attack in the middle of a bitterly frigid Chicago night.

The brothers watched the guilty verdict announcement from an overflow room in the Chicago courthouse.

Now that Jussie's been found guilty he'll almost certainly have to pay restitution to Chicago in the amount of $130k -- the amount the city says it dropped on investigating the hoax attack.

During the trial, defense attorneys took the calculated risk of having Jussie testify ... something criminal defendants rarely do. While on the stand, he gave his blow-by-blow account of what happened during the attack ... explaining he'd gone out at 2 AM to buy eggs because the Osundairo bros. -- who he'd hired as personal trainers -- told him he needed protein.

Most importantly, his testimony aimed to poke holes in the Osundairos' credibility. For instance, he detailed sexual encounters he claims to have had with Bola ... even though Bola had stated the exact opposite under oath -- that they had NO sexual relation.

The brothers also testified Jussie paid them to buy supplies and provided instructions on where to meet him to carry out the "attack." In the end, the trial boiled down to a he said/he said, and obviously, the jury wasn't swayed by a celeb on the stand.

You'll recall ... Jussie initially claimed 2 white males jumped him, hurled slurs at him, punched him, threw a noose around his neck ... all while screaming, "This is MAGA country!!!"

He reported the alleged crime to police ... greeting them at his home with the rope still wrapped around his neck. Soon, doubts started to surface about Jussie's story -- and eventually, the police came out and claimed the guy had made the whole thing up.

Jussie denied that, but he was ultimately charged in connection to the alleged lie ... but, stunningly, those whopping 16 charges were dismissed -- with Jussie only having to forfeit his $10k bond as punishment. After much uproar, a special prosecutor was appointed, and he charged Jussie anew ... this time only charging with 6 counts.

There was also the issue of whether the Osundairo brothers were actually Jussie's drug dealers or not -- the bros claimed they weren't (that they were simply suppliers) but Jussie's team argued they were far more than just that ... seemingly trying to ding their credibility.

Despite Jussie testifying there was "no hoax" ... the jury wasn't buying it. He now faces a possible 3-year prison sentence, but it remains to be seen if he'll actually do any time behind bars. Keep in mind, he has no prior criminal record.

He was not taken into custody, and will remain free pending sentencing.

The City of Chicago had sued Jussie over lost resources in investigating his claims, but if he has to pay back that dough as part of his sentence ... that civil suit would be moot.

The prosecutor in Jussie Smollett's case raised a lot of eyebrows during his closing argument, by using the phrase "monkeyed around" while referring to the famous defendant.

Prosecutor Dan Webb was trying to make a point that Jussie kept a noose around his neck for a long, long time until police showed up at his apartment. He told the jury Jussie "monkeyed around" with the rope.

The phrase led to groans from Jussie's family ... with several of them shaking their heads in disgust. The jury heard and saw all of this play out ... and it certainly didn't score points for the prosecution that tried to prove the alleged racial attack on Jussie was fake.

This isn't the first time the prosecutor got schooled for a racial misstep. Just 2 days ago Jussie called him out in court for reading some of his texts and using the full n-word. The prosecutor actually backed down and had Jussie read the texts.

Jussie Smollett interrupted his own courtroom grilling to make an interesting request -- that the prosecutor does not use the n-word in full ... because he found it offensive.

The "Empire" actor stopped prosecutor Dan Webb -- who's white -- during his line of questioning during cross-examination Tuesday, and flat-out asked the guy to stop repeating the slur while quoting messages Jussie had sent to the Osundairo brothers on the day of the alleged attack.

Jussie said in court, "Can you spell or say the n-word out of respect for every African American in this room? You've been saying that word a lot."

Webb made a compromise ... asking that Jussie read the messages himself, which he apparently did. One of the messages Jussie read himself was from Abimbola, which said ... "N**** finally made it just landed haha."

After cross, Jussie stepped down ... and the defense rested its case. Closing arguments are expected to begin tomorrow.

Jussie Smollett just took the stand in his own defense, talking about his career and his sexual encounters with one of the men he says is responsible for attacking him.

Smollett was called as a witness for the defense Monday, and opened up about his family, the loss of his dad and finding success on "Empire." Jussie claimed to have made $25K-$35K per episode on the first season of the FOX show.

Jussie also got into how he met Abel, saying the two met at a gay club one night and went to a Chicago bathhouse where they did drugs, including cocaine and marijuana. During another visit to the bathhouse, Jussie says they made out and masturbated together.

We had Fox News correspondent Matt Finn on TMZ Live who was inside the courtroom when Jussie took the stand, and gave us a better idea of the actor's mood.

This is the second week of the trial, last week saw testimony from the Osundairo brothers, who Jussie says attacked him. Of course, the Osundairo brothers have maintained Jussie was in on the whole thing, and staged the attack with them for publicity.

Last week, Ola Osundairo fought back against previous claims Jussie had made calling him homophobic. He presented the court with a photo of himself dressed as a Trojan warrior and handing out condoms at a gay pride parade to show he was friendly with the gay community.

In describing the planning of the attack, the brothers testified Smollett originally wanted them to punch him, put a noose around his neck and pour gasoline on him. However, the gasoline was changed to bleach because the brothers felt gasoline could be too dangerous.

Jussie Smollett's claim one of the Osundairo bros is homophobic -- and that motivated him to pull off the alleged attack -- is getting shot down in court by the brother himself, who brought Pride pics as evidence.

Ola Osundairo -- one of the prosecution's star witnesses, along with his brother Abel -- testified Thursday in Chicago, saying he respects the gay community and had worked as a bouncer in a gay club called Boystown.

He stopped short of dropping the old "I have gay friends" trope but did say he'd been knee-deep in Pride celebrations. The jury was shown a 2015 photo of one such time -- Ola said he was "handing out condoms and flexing" while dressed as a Trojan warrior.

Get it? Condoms? Trojan? Anyway, there are no cameras in court, so we haven't actually seen the pic in question.

The prosecution's star witnesses in the Jussie Smollett trial may have a credibility problem with one of the Osundairo brothers ... over supplying Jussie with drugs.

Abimbola 'Bola' Osundairo testified he obtained drugs for Smollett, but didn't sell them to him.

The reason this came up during the trial ... back in 2019, texts surfaced between Jussie and one of the brothers about scoring marijuana, cocaine and ecstasy. Documents in the case refer to the transaction this way ... "Smollett would request ... weed, molly, or Whitney [slang for cannabis and controlled substances]." The document goes on to say Jussie used PayPal and Venmo to pay for the drug transactions. And, the document suggests Jussie tried to cover the drug deal by saying payment was for personal training.

Well, Bola testified that yes, he did supply Jussie with drugs, but added, "I'm not a drug dealer. I don't sell."

It's too early to know how this develops ... but jurors may find it hard to swallow Bola's testimony ... that a couple of trainers who have bit parts in a TV show would dig deep into their pockets to pay for the drugs of a wealthy actor. If the jury has issues with this, it could impact the brothers' credibility, which could create the reasonable doubt necessary to acquit Jussie.

The brothers were in court Thursday ... before entering the building they were seen praying together.

Vivica A. Fox is a ride or die friend, because she made it clear Tuesday night ... she stands by Jussie Smollett in bad times as well as good.

Vivica was at the TCL Chinese Theatre for the premiere of her movie, "True to the Game 3." Our photog asked about her ties with Jussie, and Vivica showed Smollett mad love.

What's interesting ... she never said if she believed he was actually attacked on the streets of Chicago back in 2019. Clearly, prosecutors don't believe him, because he's currently on trial for allegedly staging the incident. He's charged with 6 felonies and could be sent to prison for years if convicted.

A jury has been selected and testimony has begun. It's unclear if Jussie will take the stand in his own defense. Typically, defendants in criminal cases stay mum, but this case almost demands Jussie tell the jury his version of what happened.

Jussie Smollett's back in Chicago, finally standing trial for allegedly staging the racist and homophobic attack he reported to cops ... and he's brought lots of backup.

The actor was greeted by a huge crowd of reporters and photographers on his way into the courthouse Monday morning. Jussie was flanked by 7 family members, including his sister Jurnee Smollett, as he strode in to face charges of felony disorderly conduct over the alleged January 2019 attack.

A grand jury indicted Smollett last year on six counts -- all related to lying to cops about the incident -- and he's pled not guilty to all the charges.

This is take 2 for Chicago in prosecuting Smollett for allegedly lying. He'd originally been hit with 16 charges, but the prosecutor's office unexpectedly dropped all of them back in March 2019.

A special prosecutor then presented the case to a grand jury ... resulting in the 6 new charges.

You'll recall, Jussie originally said 2 white men had attacked him at 2 AM on a brutally cold night ... hurling homophobic and racist slurs and, pouring what he believed to be bleach, all over him. He also claimed they'd yelled, "This is MAGA country" at him and left a rope around his neck.

However, Abel and Ola Osundairo eventually came forward and claimed the whole thing was staged.

The brothers, who are definitely NOT white, told cops Jussie paid them to pull off the fake attack ... which pissed off Chicago PD and led to Cook County State Attorney Kim Foxx bringing the original charges.

The Osundairo brothers are expected to testify during Jussie's new trial.