Jussie Smollett asserts innocence while promoting new film
Jussie Smollett, the actor and musician who was convicted of lying to the police about being the victim of a homophobic and racist hate crime that he staged in 2019, attended a screening of his latest film “The Lost Holliday” in a packed auditorium of the Martin Luther King Jr.
Memorial Library on Aug. 28. In an interview with the Washington Blade that took place before the screening, he continued to assert his innocence and responded to concerns within the LGBTQ community that his case has discouraged real victims from reporting hate crimes.
The former “Empire” star wrote, produced, and directed “The Lost Holliday,” his second feature film to direct following 2021’s “B-Boy Blues.” Produced through Smollett’s company, SuperMassive Movies, he stars in the film alongside Vivica A.
Fox, who also served as a producer and attended the library screening with other cast members. In the film, Smollett plays Jason Holliday, a man grappling with the sudden death of his husband Damien (Jabari Redd).
