Jussie Smollett's Empire Co-Star Taraji P. Henson Compares Him To Emmett Till As Family Rallies Support
14.03.2022 - 20:21
/ perezhilton.com
Jussie Smollett‘s friends, co-stars, and family members are showing him support in the days following his prison sentence.
Of course, as we previously reported, the 39-year-old actor was sentenced last week to 150 days in jail followed by probation for his role in staging his own hate crime in late January 2019, and filing a false report with the Chicago police. Now, his Empire co-stars and others are coming forward to show support for the star amid his ordeal.
Related: Jussie Defies His Own Lawyers To Give Rare Interview — And Claims He Was ‘Set Up’
In a post published on Instagram this weekend, Taraji P. Henson shared her dismay at her Empire co-star’s five-month-long prison sentence. In the post, the Empire lead compared Jussie’s plight to that of Emmett Till, a black teenager murdered in Mississippi in 1955 after a white woman, Carolyn Bryant, alleged that he’d whistled at her in a store.
Henson compared the two cases, noting the severity of Till’s circumstances and lack of justice in that tragic situation, and slammed the prison sentence levied against Smollett, writing (below):
The actress also added this about the Mighty Ducks alum:
Wow.
Here is her full post (below):
Henson is not the only person speaking out about Smollett’s situation, either. The actor’s family has come forward with new statements over the weekend, as well.
Jurnee Smollett, Jussie’s 35-year-old sister, posted an image of that same “#FreeJussie” hashtag as Henson (above) on her own Instagram account this past weekend. Along with it, the Birds of Prey star wrote:
And Jussie’s brother, Jocqui Smollett, was there to show support online, too.
In an Instagram video posted over the weekend, Jocqui joined the chorus of voices backing the imprisoned