American actor Jussie Smollett was sentenced on Thursday to 150 days in jail by a Chicago judge for lying to police about a politically charged robbery and hate crime that he staged against himself, The Hill reports.
The sentence also includes 30 months probation and $120,000 in restitution to the city of Chicago.
Smollett was found guilty in December of lying to police about an alleged attack he faced in 2019. Smollett, who claimed the attack was real, was convicted of five of six counts of felony disorderly conduct.
The former “Empire” actor, who insisted on his innocence after his sentence was read, had potentially faced up to three years in prison for each count, though Judge James Linn said Thursday he did not believe the case as it stood could result in multiple consecutive three-year terms.
Pointing to Smollett’s family history of fighting social injustice, however, Linn said in his sentencing, "The hypocrisy is just astounding."
"The only thing I can find is that you really craved the attention," he added.
Smollett claimed two men beat him, yelled "racist and homophobic slurs," dumped an "unknown chemical substance" on him and put a noose around his neck while he was walking to Walgreens late at night in Chicago.
Police and prosecutors, however, alleged that Smollett paid two brothers, Abel and Ola Osundairo, $3,500 to help him stage the attack. Both brothers testified during the trial that Smollett asked them to carry out a fake attack.
Several of Smollett’s friends and family members appeared in court to plead for leniency, according to The Hill.
Statements supporting Smollett, who on the advice of counsel declined to comment on Thursday, were also read on behalf of the Black Lives Matter movement, NAACP President Derrick Johnson, actor Samuel L. Jackson and Jesse Jackson and the Rainbow Push Coalition.