CHICAGO (CelebrityAccess) — Disgraced actor Jussie Smollett reported for his first day in prison after he was convicted of staging his own purported hate crime.
On Thursday, Smollett was sentenced to 5 months, including 150 days in Cook County’s detention facilities, according to Chicago’s WLS.
“You will spend the first 150 days of your sentence in the Cook County Jail, and that will start today. Right here, right now,” Judge James Linn said during the sentencing hearing.
The sentence follows Smollett’s conviction on five counts of felony disorderly conduct for lying to Chicago police.
During the hearing, Linn pointed to aggravating factors, including premeditation and providing f on the stand during his trial.
“You got on the witness stand. You didn’t have to. You did. You certainly had a right to. But you committed hour upon hour upon hour of perjury,” Linn said.
The judge also claimed Smollett of making it harder for victims of actual hate crimes to seek justice, describing Smollett as a “charlatan” and “liar” WLS reported.
Smollett has also been sentenced to 30 months of probation and is required to pay $120,000 in restitution and a $25,000 fine to the City of Chicago.
Following his sentencing, Smollett addressed the court, stating: “I am not suicidal. I am not suicidal! I am innocent! And I am not suicidal. If I did this, then it means that I stuck my fist in the fears of Black Americans in this country for 400 years and the fears of the LGBTQ community. Your honor, I respect you, and I respect the jury, but I did not do this, and I am not suicidal. And if anything happens to me when I go in there, I did not do it to myself! And you must all know that!”
