It’s been a rough few years for Jussie Smollett, but the actor does have something to feel positive about. According to TMZ, the former “Empire” star recently completed a five month outpatient rehab program for substance abuse.
The outlet’s sources say that he “put in the work, focusing on his health and being consistent with his workouts during his time in rehab.” As he continues his sobriety journey, the singer/actor now turns his attention back to the legal battle over his 2019 fake hate crime.
He and his legal team appealed his conviction to the Illinois Supreme Court, claiming that an original deal he had with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office should have prohibited his trial from happening. According to TMZ, special prosecutor Dan Webb calls Smollett’s alleged deal “imaginary” and states that “it did not insulate him from facing charges at a later date.”
Smollett presumably wants to clear his name so he can try and restart his career. However, whether he has a conviction on his record or not, his name has become synonymous with hoaxes. Anytime someone from a marginalized community goes public with an attack or assault, they instantly have their name attached to his on social media. If we’re being honest: There may not be enough apologizing to make up for all the ways he has hurt his communities.
Staging a fake hate crime isn’t a scandal we’ve seen someone try to come back from, so there’s no road map to show what a career resurgence would look like. However, Smollett’s name continues to be a lightning rod for controversy that few studios or producers will want their projects attached to. It also doesn’t help that “Empire” was basically his only role of note before all this happened.
Stars like Robert Downey Jr., Mel Gibson and even Jonathan Majors, had years of quality, successful work behind them before they found themselves mired in controversy. Even with all the extra baggage, they were proven commodities—something Smollett isn’t.
At some point, everyone needs a second chance. Unfortunately for the actor, Hollywood only allows certain people to get those second, third and fourth chances. Honestly, Jussie Smollett can do the apology tour, start his career over from the bottom and work his way back up. But at the end of day, his name has been dragged through so much mud, it seems unlikely that he has a reasonable shot at a comeback.