Jussie Smollett is suing the city of Chicago.
The ‘Empire’ star had been accused of having orchestrated a racist and homophobic attack on himself back in January, and although he had the case against him dropped in March, he has filed a petition for malicious prosecution, claiming officials created the narrative and it has cost him hugely.
According to a lawsuit obtained by TMZ, Jussie noted Abel Osundairo – who he had worked with on ‘Empire’ – and his brother Ola were held for 47 hours and denied any involvement in the assault, but claimed they offered up the story of a fake attack when assured they would get immunity from prosecution.
The 37-year-old star insisted he doesn’t know what, if any, involvement the brothers had in the alleged attack and claimed the primary assailant was a white male.
Jussie is suing the City, the Osundairo brothers and several officials, including Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson.
A lawyer for Abel and Ola branded the lawsuit a "sad attempt" to "falsely smear" others.
The attorney, Gloria Schmidt, said: "This is just another sad attempt by Jussie Smollett to try and falsely smear the Osundario brothers, the City of Chicago and the Chicago Police Department. There is no legal merit to his claims, and could be sanctionable.
"The brothers were open and honest with the Chicago Police Department, testified under oath in front of a Grand Jury, and stand ready to do so again, in open court, if and when called upon to do so."
Jussie is currently being sued by local officials for around $500,000 to cover various costs, including to compensate for the overtime pay for police who investigated his case.
The 37-year-old actor was initially indicted on 16 felony counts of lying to police over the alleged attack but the charges were later dismissed.
Jussie Smollett sues Chicago
