Jussie Smollett has lost his recent appeal (Picture: Getty)
Jussie Smollett has lost an appeal over his disorderly conduct conviction.
The former Empire actor previously appealed after he was jailed for falsely claiming that he was the victim of a hate crime.
However, the Illinois Appellate Court decided to uphold his conviction.
According to CBS News, it was ruled that the 40-year-old wasn’t denied due process in his legal battles, and that ‘re-prosecuting was not fundamentally unfair’, with the decision announced after a 2-1 vote.
His team can now argue this decision to the Illinois Supreme Court, who will then decide whether to hear the case.
The outlet reports that he will have to finish his 150-day jail sentence, after he previously spent six days behind bars.
He previously spent six days behind bars (Picture: Getty)
Smollett has not spoken publicly over the appeal loss.
In 2019, the Jamal Lyon star told police officers that he had been attacked by two men wearing ski masks in Chicago, alleging that they yelled homophobic and racist slurs at him.
He claimed that they told him that he was in ‘MAGA country’, and put a noose around his neck.
Officers quickly turned their attention to Smollett during the investigation, and accused him of paying two men to carry out the attack, instructing them on what to say.
Smollett has always maintained his innocence, but a jury convicted him in December, 2021, on five felony counts of lying to the police.
The actor has denied all allegations against him (Picture: Getty)
He was sentenced to 150 days behind bars and was jailed last year, before leaving the facility six days after he surrendered to prison.
His attorneys submitted an appeal in which they argued that trial judge James Linn made a string of errors, and claimed that his sentence was excessive.
In paperwork obtained by Variety, they alleged that ‘inappropriate comments’ made during the trial affected the jury’s ability to provide an unbiased verdict, and suggested that Linn ‘sought to hurry along’ parts of their defense during cross-examination.
They also argued that his closing comments ‘took on a personal retributive tone and was based on speculative information’.
Metro.co.uk has contacted reps for Smollett for a comment.
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The actor lodged an appeal this year.
