Jussie Smollett: Taraji P Henson says Empire co-star’s 150-day sentence ‘does not fit the crime’

‘My prayer is that he is freed and put on house arrest and probation,’ actor wrote

Taraji P Henson has called for herEmpire co-star Jussie Smollett to be freed from prison after he was sentenced to 150 days for staging a hate crime hoax.

The actor had claimed he was attacked in downtown Chicago in the early hours of January 2019 by masked Trump supporters who used homophobic slurs.

Smollett was later charged with lying to law enforcement, with a jury on Thursday (10 March) finding him guilty.

He was sentenced to 150 days behind bars, with 30 months’ probation and ordered to pay $120,106 (£91,700) in restitution and $25,000 (£19,000) in fines.

Smollett continued to insist his innocence in court, standing and shouting: “I am not suicidal, I am not suicidal,” after the ruling passed.

On Sunday (13 March), Henson – who starred opposite Smollett in the musical drama series Empire – shared an image to her Instagram feed of the words “#FreeJussie”, protesting his sentencing in the caption.

“I am not here to debate you on his innocence but we can agree that the punishment does not fit the crime,” she wrote.

“No one was hurt or killed during Jussie’s ordeal. He has already lost everything, EVERYTHING! To me as an artist not able to create that in itself is punishment enough.”

Henson continued: “He can’t get a job. No one in Hollywood will hire him and again as an artist who loves to create, that is prison. My prayer is that he is freed and put on house arrest and probation because in this case that would seem fair. Please #freejussie.”

Other celebrities including Samuel L Jackson and Alfre Woodard have also shown support for Smollett.