Instagram is rapidly becoming the go-to source of Jussie Smollett defenders.
Today, Smollett’s fellow Empire castmate Taraji P. Henson took to the service to plead for home confinement rather than jail for Smollett, who was sentenced Thursday to 150 days incarceration for his role in creating a hate hoax.
She posted a stark black and white message with the hashtag #FreeJussie and a full-throated call for his release. Smollett is reportedly in Cook County Jail’s psych ward where high-profile prisoners are kept.
“I am not here to debate you on his innocence,” Henson wrote. “But we can agree that the punishment does not fit the crime. Emmett Till was brutally beat and ultimately murdered because of a lie, and none of the people involved with his demise spent one day in jail, even after Carolyn Bryant admitted that her claims were false.
Henson added, “No one was hurt or killed during Jussie’s ordeal. He has already lost everything, EVERYTHING! To me as an artist not able to create that in itself is punishment enough. He can’t get a job. No one in Hollywood will hire him and again as an artist who loves to create, that is prison.
“My prayer is that he is freed and put on house arrest and probation because in this case that would seem fair. Please #freejussie.”
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The post Free Jussie Smollett, Says ‘Empire’ Castmate Taraji P. Henson – Compares Him With Emmett Till appeared first on Deadline.
