Connect with us

Celebrity News

Actor Jussie Smollett sentenced to 150 days for lying about hate crime

As deputies led him from the courtroom, Smollett shouted “I am innocent,” raising his first- “I could have said I am guilty a long time ago”

Published

on

Actor Jussie Smollett reacting to his sentence in a Chicago courtroom. (Screenshot/WGN)

CHICAGO – Cook County Judge James Linn sentenced actor Jussie Smollett to 30 months of probation and 150 days in jail for lying to police about a racist and homophobic attack that he staged. Linn also ordered Smollett to pay $120,106 restitution to the city of Chicago and a $25,000 fine.

The Out actor and former ‘Empire’ star’s request for new trial was denied ahead of sentencing.

Smollett, who had made the afternoon appearance in Linn’s courtroom shortly after 1 p.m. when he walked into the Cook County Leighton Criminal Courts building surrounded by family members and his defense team, first sought to have the jury’s verdict overturned on legal grounds.

ABC7 Chicago’s Diane Pathieu reported that Judge Linn told Smollett and his defenders: “I do believe at the end of the day that Mr. Smollett received a fair trial, that he was proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt by a jury based on the evidence that was presented.” The Judge added “You committed hour upon hour upon hour of perjury.” 

Linn also took the actor to task telling him, “I’m going to tell you Mr. Smollett, I know that there is nothing that I will do here today that will come close to the damage you’ve already done to your own life.”

During the testimony prior to sentencing, Smollett’s 92-year-old grandmother, Molly Smollett, told the court; “I ask you, judge, not to send him to prison- If you do, send me along with him, OK?”

According to ABC7 Chicago, Special prosecutor Dan Webb asked Linn to include “an appropriate amount of prison time” when sentencing the actor for his conviction. Webb said he would not ask for a specific amount of time, leaving that to Linn’s discretion.

He also asked that Smollett be ordered to pay $130,000 in restitution to the city of Chicago.

The actor was offered the opportunity to speak, but declined, saying he agreed with his attorney’s advice to remain quiet. However as he was taken into custody by court deputies, Smollett insisted that he was not suicidal, suggesting that “if anything happens” in jail, he did not take his own life.

“If I did this, then it means that I stuck my fist in the fears of Black Americans in this country for over 400 years and the fears of the LGBT community,” Smollett said, standing up at the defense table as his lawyers and sheriff’s deputies surrounded him. “Your Honor, I respect you and I respect the jury but I did not do this. And I am not suicidal. And if anything happens to me when I go in there, I did not do it to myself. And you must all know that.”

As deputies led him from the courtroom, Smollett shouted out again.

“I am innocent,” he yelled, raising his first. “I could have said I am guilty a long time ago.”

WGN Clip from TMZ:

Today’s sentencing caps off a three-year-long series of investigations and two trials since the actor told Chicago police he was the victim of a racist and homophobic attack in January of 2019. He was convicted of five of six felony counts of disorderly conduct for lying to police and had faced a maximum sentence of three years in prison for all counts.

Advertisement
FUND LGBTQ JOURNALISM
SIGN UP FOR E-BLAST

Celebrity News

Adele shuts down ‘Pride sucks’ heckler at Las Vegas show

British singer is a long-time LGBTQ ally

Published

on

Adele (Screen capture via "I Drink Wine" music video on YouTube)

British pop megastar and longtime LGBTQ ally Adele reacted to a member of the audience who repeatedly yelled “Pride Sucks” in between songs during her show Saturday night in Las Vegas.

Adele, who is continuing her iconic residency, Weekends with Adele, at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, has been a strong LGBTQ supporter. Last year, she celebrated Pride Month during her Las Vegas residency wearing a black dress with a rainbow flag train and Pride-themed confetti. 

Sitting down on the piano bench next to her pianist bantering with the audience which is routine, the singer eviscerated the unseen audience member:

“Did you come to my fucking show to say Pride sucks? Are you fucking stupid?” Adele angrily said reacting. “Don’t be so fucking ridiculous. If you have nothing nice to say, shut up, alright?”

The incident, which was caught on cell phone footage and posted to X, has since gone viral:

Continue Reading

Celebrity News

Actor Richard Dreyfuss mocks transgender people in misogynistic rant

‘Jaws’ star appeared at suburban Boston theater

Published

on

Richard Dreyfuss walked onto the stage wearing a blue floral pattern house dress, pausing to turn away from the audience and shake his hips suggestively, actions that were caught on multiple mobile phone video footage posted online. (YouTube screenshot)

Patrons at The Cabot theater in the suburban Boston town of Beverly were all set to celebrate the 49th anniversary viewing of the classic 1975 Steven Spielberg horror film “Jaws,” along with a question and answer with one of the film’s stars actor Richard Dreyfuss, when from the minute Dreyfuss appeared on stage, the event derailed.

Dreyfuss walked onto the stage wearing a blue floral pattern house dress, pausing to turn away from the audience and shake his hips suggestively, actions that were caught on multiple mobile phone video footage posted online. Then two stage hands appeared and tore the dress off the actor who then took his seat opposite the event’s moderator.

According to Variety and the Boston Globe’s reporting, Dreyfuss ranted about subjects reported to include transgender people, Barbra Streisand, the #MeToo movement, and women in general. As attendee Diane Wolfe described it to the Boston Globe, “[Dreyfuss] said that the parents of trans youth, allowing them to transition, was bad parenting and that someday those kids might change their minds.”

Facebook/social media advertisement for the ‘Jaws’ screening by The Cabot.

A number of members of the audience took offense and left the venue. On The Cabot’s Facebook page one attendee wrote: “This was disgusting. How could The Cabot not have vetted his act better. Apparently (I found out too late), he has a reputation for spewing this kind of racist, homophobic, misogynistic bull crap.”

The Cabot has since limited commenting on its page.

The Cabot Executive Director J. Casey Soward on Sunday apologized in a statement that read:

“We regret that an event that was meant to be a conversation to celebrate an iconic movie instead became a platform for political views. We take full responsibility for the oversight in not anticipating the direction of the conversation and for the discomfort it caused to many patrons,” Soward said. “We are in active dialogue with our patrons about their experience and are committed to learning from this event how to better enact our mission of entertaining, educating and inspiring our community.”

WBSM News Talk Sports Radio in New Bedford–Fall River reported that The Cabot also sent an email, that the station had been forwarded, to those who purchased tickets apologizing.

“Dear Cabot Patrons,

I am writing to address an important matter concerning last night’s event with Richard Dreyfuss at The Cabot.

We deeply regret that Mr. Dreyfuss’s comments during the event were not in line with the values of inclusivity and respect that we uphold at The Cabot. We understand that his remarks were distressing and offensive to many of our community members, and for that, we sincerely apologize.

At The Cabot, we are committed to fostering a welcoming and inclusive environment for all members of our community. The views expressed by Mr. Dreyfuss do not reflect our beliefs, and we do not endorse them in any way.

We take full responsibility for the oversight in not anticipating the direction of the conversation and for any discomfort it caused.

We are taking immediate steps to ensure that such an incident does not happen again. This includes more rigorous vetting of our event participants and more proactive communication strategies to keep our audience informed.

Thank you for your understanding and continued support of The Cabot.

We value your feedback and are dedicated to learning from this experience to better serve our community.”

The actor has a lengthy record of anti-trans remarks and bigotry. He has directed transphobic rants about trans youth affirming their gender and has taken aim at the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences calling out the Academy’s diversity efforts in a 2023 PBS’ Firing Line broadcast saying that the Academy’s focus on diversity “makes me vomit.”

“We’re so fragile that we can’t have our feelings hurt,” he also said. “We don’t know how to stand up and bop the bully in the face.”

Deadline reported that Dreyfuss apparently made similar comments at a Friday night “Jaws” screening at the Music Hall in Portsmouth, N.H. “I live in Mass, but The Cabot showing was all booked so I saw him in N.H. on May 24,” a Facebook commenter wrote. “He made anti-gay remarks that night too.”

The actor has not responded to requests by multiple media outlets for comment.

Continue Reading

Celebrity News

John Waters released from hospital after car accident

Crash took place in Baltimore County

Published

on

John Waters (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

BY TAJI BURRIS | Baltimore filmmaker John Waters was released from the hospital Tuesday morning following a car accident.

The 78-year-old released a statement saying that although he was hurt in the Baltimore County crash, he did not sustain major injuries.

The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Advertisement

Sign Up for Weekly E-Blast

Follow Us @washblade

Advertisement

Popular