Actor Jussie Smollett has been sentenced to 150 days in jail and 30 months of probation for his false report of being the victim of a racist and homophobic attack in 2019.
Smollett was found guilty in December for five counts of disorderly conduct and was found not guilty for his sixth charge of aggravated battery.
In his sentencing Thursday, the presiding judge James Linn told Smollett:
"You're just a charlatan pretending to be a victim of a hate crime,"
In response to what the judge said, Smollett stood up and said:
"I am not suicidal!"
He then said that he was innocent and then said:
"if anything happens to me when I go in there, I did not do it to myself,"
Smollett's charges stem from a 2019 report where he claims that he was brutally assaulted in Chicago. He claimed that two men approached him, punched and kicked him. He also said that they were shouting homophobic slurs at him, threw a chemical in his face, and ultimately tied a noose around his neck.
These claims by Smollett led to the arrest of the Osundario brothers for this alleged attack - brothers who worked on the show "Empire", the same show Smollett acted on.
After further investigation, the brothers were later released from jail and Jussie was arrested in 2019 after authorities said he hired the brothers and staged the attack.
Police say Smollett did this to advance his career.
In his sentencing, Smollett will also have to pay around $120,000 in restitution to Chicago and was also fined $25,000. Other than that, he was sentenced to 150 days in jail and 30 months of probation for his actions.