Jussie Smollett Celebrates Pride in First Social Media Post Since Alleged Attack

Empire star posted a clip from Tarell Alvin McCraney's speech at the 2019 Tony Awards

By Mike Vulpo Jun 10, 2019 7:06 PMTags
Jussie SmollettMichael Buckner/Variety/REX/Shutterstock

Jussie Smollett has made his return to social media.

On Monday morning, the Empire star took to Instagram where he shared a memorable clip from this weekend's 2019 Tony Awards.

In the video, Tarell Alvin McCraney discussed black queerness before introducing his multi-nominated play Choir Boy at Radio City Music Hall.

"@octarell_again," Jussie shared in his post with two prayer emoji's. "So much #PRIDE." He would turn off his comments with followers only able to like and view the post.

While it may appear to be a standard Instagram, many pop culture fans can't help but notice that this is his first post since he was allegedly attacked in Chicago.

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Stars Celebrate Pride Month 2019

Back in January, Jussie was reported to be the victim of an alleged racist, homophobic attack in Chicago. Developments slowly unfolded, however, that made authorities doubt his story.

The star was indicted on 16 felony counts of disorderly conduct for allegedly filing a false police report. They were later dropped in return for the star's agreement to forfeit his $10,000 bond to the City of Chicago.

"For Jussie, what's really important is he really just wants his career and his life back...he did not ask for any of this. He was a victim of a crime. This has completely spiraled out of control and become a political event at this point," Jussie's attorney Tina Glandian previously shared on Good Morning America. "His goal and focus right now is just getting his life back on track."

She added, "He has not even started healing from the initial attack because he's been dealing with everything that's happened since then."

As for Jussie's possible return to Empire, Fox addressed the rumors in a May statement.

"By mutual agreement, the studio has negotiated an extension to Jussie Smollett's option for season six, but at this time there are no plans for the character of Jamal to return to Empire," the network said.