Jussie Smollett Details His “Darkest Day” During His Hate Crime Hoax Scandal

Jussie Smollett recently reflected on his infamous alleged hate crime hoax scandal ahead of the premiere of his new film, The Lost Holliday. Speaking with PEOPLE for an interview over Zoom, he told the outlet about his “darkest day” during the ensuing drama. It came when authorities arrested him on several charges of disorderly conduct and falsifying a police report.

“I was numb,” he told the outlet about the time in his life. “I didn’t know how to connect the dots, I really genuinely did not know.” He explained: “I couldn’t make sense of what was going on, and I couldn’t make sense of what people were actually thinking … what exactly do they think happened? I couldn’t put two and two together.” To this day, the Empire star still maintains his innocence in the incident.

As for the day he was arrested, Smollet said: “That was a pretty dark day because that’s when everything clicked to me of what was happening. A lot of things tested my strength, a lot of things tested my mental, but the one thing I never lost — I never started thinking that I am somebody that I’m not. That is the one thing that did not happen. Keep in mind, I was deep in my thirties when this happened. This isn’t like I’m a 16-year-old or a 20-year-old, [where] this is impacting their very being of who they believe that they are. I never started thinking that I am somebody that I’m not.”

At the premiere of The Lost Holliday in New York City, Smollett also spoke with TMZ, with whom he discussed Lee Daniels’ recent comments on his case. Be on the lookout for further updates on Jussie Smollett on HotNewHipHop.