Former "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett spoke out for the first time on Friday since settling a civil lawsuit filed against him by the city of Chicago, agreeing to make a donation to charity, rather than continue a years-long court battle.
Smollett said "I'm comforted that there will be at least one winner from this experience."
In a letter signed by Smollett, he said that instead of paying the city of Chicago, the scene of an alleged 2019 hate crime hoax, he is donating $60,000 to organizations "of his choosing."
In 2021, Smollett was convicted on five counts of disorderly conduct for falsely claiming he was the victim of a hate crime near his Streeterville apartment in 2019.
Smollett claimed two masked men shouted homophobic and racial slurs at him while they poured bleach and hung a noose around his neck. Police and prosecutors later said his claims were a hoax.
Last year,the Illinois Supreme Court overturned his conviction, noting it did not weigh in on the facts of the case, but rather finding that Smollett's constitutional rights were violated when charges were brought against him for a second time, after former Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx's officehad dropped the original charges.
"It was not a decision on what we call on the merits. It was basically a constitutional technicality, if there is such a thing," CBS News Chicago legal analyst Irv Miller said.
Smollett had still been fighting a civil case with the city of Chicago separate from the criminal case that was overturned.
"This was a resolution that was necessary to happen, because both sides needed a way to get out of this case, saving face and minimizing the damages that's going to come out of their pocket. And they figured out a way to do it. Very creative," Miller said.
In its lawsuit, the city had been seeking to force Smollett to reimburse the city more than $130,000 to cover the police overtime costs associated with investigating the alleged hate crime attack.
As part of the settlement agreement with the city, Smollett agreed instead to donate $50,000 to Building Brighter Futures Center for the Arts, based in Lawndale. Separate from the settlement, he also donated $10,000 to the Chicago Torture Justice Center.
"We treat survivors of trauma, and that includes torture. It includes people who have been physically assaulted and abused," said Chicago Torture Justice Center executive director Aislinn Pulley.
Pulley works to address trauma associated with police violence.
"We're honored and delighted to accept a donation from Jussie. He is someone who has experienced some of the most horrific parts of the legal system, and we work with survivors of that legal system," she said.
Smollett added in his letter that this case has "left a stain on my character that will not soon disappear."
A spokesperson for the city's Law Department said, "The City believes this settlement provides a fair, constructive, and conclusive resolution, allowing all the parties to close this six-year-old chapter and move forward."