Smollett declares his innocence in the new song “Thank You, God…”
JJussie Smollett released a new song “Thank You God…” on Friday, doubling down on maintaining his innocence after being sentenced to 150 days in jail for faking a 2019 hate crime.
Sharing a snippet of the track on his Instagram feed, the embattled star solemnly raps, “Just remember this, this ain’t that situation/ You think I’m stupid enough to kill my reputation?/ Just to look like a victim, like it’s something fun/ Y’all better look at someone else, you got the wrong one.”
According to his caption, Smollett will be donating all profits from the song to a variety of nonprofit charity organizations, including The Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the Illinois Innocence Project, and Secure the Bag Safety.
The onetime Empire actor has also been ordered to pay $120,106 in restitution as part of his sentence, though he was released from jail last month after serving just six days behind bars while his case makes its way through the appeals process.
“Thank You God…” is the first song Smollett has released since his legal ordeal first began in January 2019, when he reported that two men had attacked him on a street in Chicago, hanging a noose around his neck while yelling racist and homophobic slurs and declaring, “This is MAGA country.”
His lone solo album, Sum of My Music, was released in March 2018 and ultimately peaked at No. 22 on Billboard‘s Heatseekers Albums chart. Prior to that, Smollett landed three tracks from Empire on the Billboard Hot 100 throughout his four-year stint on the Fox musical drama as Jamal Lyon.
source: Billboard