[griojw id=”RtTnSOyb” playerid=”GqX43ZoG”]
Rep. Maxine Waters continued voicing support of Jussie Smollett, and after accepting the chairman’s award at the 50th annual NAACP awards, she said dropping the 16-count felony charges against him was the “correct thing” to do.
“It’s the correct thing that the charges were dropped,” Rep. Waters told ExtraTV.
“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.”
Smollett has come under fire after he was able to walk away scot-free from being prosecuted after the Cook County State Attorney decided against moving forward with the alleged fake hate crime case. The 16 felony charges were dropped, Smollett forfeited his $10,000 and completed community service.
“I have learned this isn’t unusual,” Waters said.
Smollett garnered “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,” she continued.
On the other hand, at the same NAACP, Smollett didn’t have a friend in comedian Chris Rock who was ordered not to tell Smollett jokes, but did so anyone and roasted the actor.
“They said no Jussie Smollett jokes,” he said before going in. “What a waste of light skin. You know what I could do with that light skin? That curly hair? My career would be out of here. I would be running Hollywood.”
Jussie Smollett was a no-show at the annual awards show where he was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a TV Drama for his role on Empire but lost to Jessie Williams of Grey’s Anatomy.
—BREAKING: LA police identify suspect in Nipsey Hussle murder—
According to ABC News, Smollett had flown out to Los Angeles on Wednesday, sparking rumors he might be in attendance at the awards show, but skipped the Friday night dinner where his award was presented.
Waters gave an impassioned speech while accepting her award.
“It’s surreal. I am extraordinarily excited and honored that the NAACP would choose me for this honor. The NAACP is a historic civil rights organization that has opened doors for all of us and created opportunities we would not have gotten if not for them and their work, so I am just overwhelmed tonight with this honor.”
