Jussie Smollett is once again facing a stint behind bars after losing the appeal in his long-running hoax hate crime case.

Full story below…

As reported, the former ‘Empire’ star was convicted for lying about an alleged 2019 attack – which he claimed at the time was both homophobic and racially motivated.

Smollet was convicted on five felony counts of disorderly conduct – a charge that can be filed in Illinois when a person is believed to have lied to police.

He was sentenced to 150 days (five months)  in prison, however was dramatically released just days later to proceed with an appeal.

The basis of the appeal saw the 41-year-old challenge the role of a special prosecutor, jury selection, evidence, and several additional facets of the case. However, a 2-1 opinion from the Illinois Appellate Court, saw his hopes for an overturning of the decision dashed.

Having lost that appeal today, he now faces the possibility of returning to jail to see out the rest of his term.

Smollett’s spokeswoman Holly Baird said, “We are preparing to escalate this matter to the Supreme Court” (a reference to Illinois’ highest court). She also stressed that another key factor is that the opinion of the appellate court was not unanimous.

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