Jussie Smollett Net Worth: How Did Controversial 'Hate Crime' Affect His Career?
From being a former child star and a Daytime Emmy Award nominee to a now-disgraced actor, Jussie Smollett is reviving his Hollywood career through his directorial debut in "B-Boy Blues."
Amid his ongoing legal case, the 38-year-old California-born actor is set to make the film adaptation based on James Earl Hardy's 1994 novel, as cited by Deadline.
The literary series follows a story of a 27-year-old journalist named Mitchell Crawford and his relationship with Raheim Rivers--a 21-year old bicycle messenger and B-boy, whom he met at a Greenwich Village gay bar in 1993.
"The B-boy hangs out on street corners, cool and menacing. Raheim is the third B-boy in Mitchell's life, but underneath the former's tough exterior, Raheim is smart and talented and a loving parent to his five-year-old son. But Raheim has a violent streak," the publication stated.
In addition, the bestselling novel is also widely regarded as fundamental within the black LGBTQ+ community, as it delves into the controversial issues and struggles of being a black gay during the 90s.
This comes months after Smollet faced charges over an alleged falsified attack in 2019.
To recall, he claimed that he was a subject of a racist attack after he was beaten up by two men while on his way home from a Subway restaurant in Chicago.
However, the alleged suspects, who were identified as Abel and Ola Osundario, confessed that he paid them $3,500 to do the act.
At the time, the "Ask Me Anything" actor was accused of staging the incident for publicity.
Multiple reports cited that Smollet wanted to increase his profile since he was unhappy with his role in the musical drama series "Empire."
He played the role of a musician named Jamal Lyon, which was dubbed as the cutting-edge role for its positive depiction of a black gay man on TV.
Despite facing six counts of disorderly conduct, per BBC, he insisted that he is innocent and a victim of a homophobic attack.
Following his legal court battle, the show's executives were prompted to fire the "Born to Race" actor.
Fox Entertainment's CEO Charlie Collier confirmed that he would not be returning to the final season of "Empire."
Jussie Smollet Net Worth
Prior to the scandal, the "Alien Covenant" actor began his career as a child actor by starring in the 1990 musical comedy-drama film "Mo' Better Blues," followed by "New Jack City" in 1991. A year later, he landed his breakthrough role as Jesse's little brother Terry in "The Mighty Ducks."
Now, after years of hiatus, he is slowly reviving his name when he returned to the big screen for the LGBTQ romantic comedy-drama "The Skinny."
Jussie Smollet's net worth increased, thanks to his numerous appearances such as being the guest star on "The Mindy Project" and "Revenge" in 2014.
In the same year, he landed the role of Jamal Lyon on the Fox drama "Empire," which earned him a nomination in the 2015 BET Award for Best Actor.
According to wealthygorrila.com, Jussie Smollet's net worth is now an estimated $1.5 million.
Aside from his acting career, he also pursued a musical career and released his first EP titled "The Poisoned Hearts Club" in 2012. Meanwhile, his debut studio album "Sum of My Music" came in six years later.
