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Celebrities Visit SiriusXM - June 14, 2022

Source: Cindy Ord / Getty

Jussie Smollett is back and ready to open up in interviews.

However, being found guilty of paying two men to act as racist and homophobic Trump supporters and attack him with a noose and bleach as he made his way home from a Subway has led to confusion. The event occurred late at night in Chicago in 2019, yet he’s still fighting his innocence.

Recently, he found himself in the hot seat on Sway Calloway’s Sirius XM show “Sway In The Morning” when facing questions about the staged attack. However, he stands by the fact that if he’d done this, it would be disrespectful to several communities he represents.

“If I had done this, I’d be a piece of sh-t. And I don’t think that’s really questionable. If I had done something like this, it would mean that I stuck my fist in the pain of black African Americans in this country for over 400 years,” Smollett said in Monday’s Sway In The Morning episode. “It would mean that I stuck my fist in the fears of the LGBTQ community all over the world. I am not that motherf-cker. Never have been. Don’t need to be.”

As a result of faking the hate crime, he was convicted of five felony counts of disorderly conduct and sentenced to 150 days in Cook County Jail, though he’d ultimately only stay six days after being released on bail while his case gets appealed.

During his stint, Smollett revealed his methods to keep his mind clear.

“I was not fasting for lent. I was fasting because that’s what we do in my family, we fast for clarity,” he said. “Lord knows I wanted to get out. I was in a f-cking psych ward … I was sleeping on a restraint bed, but I wasn’t restrained.”

He also spoke about what it was like being in prison and interacting with those locked up. While everyone remained respectful and didn’t comment on whether they believed his case, it did have its challenges.

“There’s something about being in there, and you have no choice but to surrender yourself. Not to the system, not to a judge or a bunch of old white men ironically explaining to you about the history of hate crimes, but you’re surrendering to yourself. You’re just left there with you, your thoughts, and these walls.”

Though currently out on appeal, the actor was ordered to pay the city of Chicago $120,000 in restitution and a $25,000 fine.