Jussie Smollett Checks Into Rehab After ‘An Extremely Difficult Past Few Years’

Actor Jussie Smollett is receiving outpatient rehab treatment to combat the “extremely difficult” personal battle he’s been having in recent years.

A rep for the Empire star confirmed that he has been receiving help through a rehab facility, TMZ reports.

“Jussie has had an extremely difficult past few years,” the rep said. “He has quietly been working very hard for some time now and we are proud of him for taking these necessary steps.”

News of his outpatient treatment comes amid his ongoing appeal in his 2019 Chicago hate crime hoax. Smollett, 40, filled headlines at the time when he was charged for allegedly paying two brothers, Abel and Ola Osundairo, $3,500 to help stage a homophobic and racist attack against him in January 2019.

In May 2022, the actor was sentenced to 150 days in jail and 30 months of felony probation after he was found guilty of five counts of disorderly conduct. In addition to the jail time and probation, the B-Boy Blues director was also ordered to pay over $120,000 in restitution to the City of Chicago and was fined $25,000, NY Daily News reports.

“There’s a side of you that has this arrogance, and selfishness and narcissism that’s just disgraceful,” Cook County Judge James Linn said while sentencing the actor.

“You’re not a victim of a racial hate crime, you’re not a victim of a homophobic hate crime. You’re just a charlatan pretending to be a victim of a hate crime, and that’s shameful.”

The Cook County state’s attorney’s office initially dropped the charges months after the alleged attack, via Chicago-Sun Times. But a new indictment was later brought against him by Special Prosecutor Dan Webb that eventually led to a Cook County jury finding Smollett guilty in December 2021 of lying to police.

Smollett appeared in Chicago’s First District Appellate Court last month to argue that backlash over the high-profile celebrity case resulted in properly dismissed charges being improperly restored.