Democratic California Rep. Maxine Waters praised the Chicago prosecutors who dropped the charges against Jussie Smollett during an interview at the NAACP awards this weekend.
The actor pleaded not guilty to 16 counts of disorderly conduct earlier this month in regards to his alleged role in faking a hate crime, but the charges against him were unexpectedly dropped last Tuesday.
“It’s the correct thing that the charges were dropped,” Waters said to Extra. “First of all, we probably will never know all of the details. We’ve heard a lot of information. No one was hurt — that is, physically, killed, shot — he never committed a crime before, he forfeited the bail and it’s this kind of situation where they close the case all over the country every day. I have learned this isn’t unusual.”
She added that the case has gotten, “a lot of attention because of who he is — he’s an extremely talented man who people have come to love because he is on TV. I’m hopeful that he will go on with his career and be successful.” (RELATED: Here Are All The Politicians That Rushed To Judgement On The Smollett ‘Hate Crime’)
Actor Jussie Smollett leaves the Leighton Courthouse after his court appearance on March 26, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images)
In a press conference following the charges getting dropped, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson expressed their dismay with the prosecutor’s decision, which is now under investigation. Emanuel called it “a whitewash of justice,” and said that he received special privileges, “because he’s an actor.”
Waters was awarded the Chairman’s Award during the 50th NAACP Image Awards.
