Jussie Smollett to Be Sued by City of Chicago After Alleged Attack

The City of Chicago plans to sue Empire actor Jussie Smollett for the cost of investigating the alleged hate crime he claimed to be the victim of.

Chicago spokesman Bill McCaffrey told CBS Chicago the lawsuit is being written up by the city’s Law Department and will be filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County after Smollett missed a Thursday deadline to pay back more than $130,0000.

“Mr. Smollett has refused to reimburse the City of Chicago for the cost of police overtime spent investigating his false police report on January 29, 2019,” the spokesman said in a statement to Deadline. “The Law Department is now drafting a civil complaint that will be filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County. Once it is filed, the Law Department will send a courtesy copy of the complaint to Mr. Smollett’s L.A. based legal team.”

The lawsuit follows a March 28 letter from the Law Department that gave Smollett a week to pay back the $130,106.15 cost of the investigation. The letter said Smollett could be prosecuted for making a false statement “under the Municipal Code of Chicago,” and the city could seek damages three times as much as the cost of the investigation if Smollett was found guilty.

Smollett said he was attacked by two men in January, claiming the men put a noose around his neck and threw a chemical substance at him while yelling racial slurs and wearing “Make America Great Again” hats. Later, Chicago police accused Smollett of orchestrating the attack because he was unhappy with his Empire salary.

Prosecutors charged Smollett with 16 felonies related to lying to police, but on March 26, all charges were suddenly dropped and the case was closed. Smollett agreed to forfeit his $10,000 bond and did community service in exchange.

However, some Chicago officials were outraged by the decision. Mayor Rahm Emanuel called it a “whitewash of justice” and said the decision by the state’s attorney was “politically motivated.” In a press conference, Emanuel said the $10,000 bond “doesn’t even come close to what the city spent in resources.”

Smollett has since stood by his story.

“I want you to know that not for a moment was it in vain. I have been truthful and consistent on every single level since day one,” the actor said in a press conference last week. “I would not be my mother’s son if I was capable of one drop of what I’ve been accused of.”

Since the charges were dropped, Smollett’s future on Empire, which Fox has not renewed for another season yet, was in question. While on The View Thursday morning, Taraji P. Henson said it was unlikely he would be fired.

“I talk to Jussie all the time, and he’s doing well. We’re all doing well,” Henson explained. “The show is doing well. We’re on hiatus right now. The writers are trying to figure out what the next season is going to look like, what our storyline is going to be. They’re trying to drum up some really good juicy stuff for you guys.”

Empire airs on Fox Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET.

Photo credit: FOX