Actor and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Image Awards host Anthony Anderson said he is happy that the “system worked” for Empire star Jussie Smollett, after prosecutors in Chicago abruptly dropped all charges against him over hoax hate crime against himself.
On Tuesday, the Cook County State Attorney’s Office dropped all charges against the 36-year-old, who was facing 16 separate felony counts related to filing a false report that he was assaulted by two men who shouted racial and homophobic slurs in downtown Chicago in late January.
The decision sparked widespread outrage from across the political spectrum, including from Chicago’s Democratic Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who denounced it as a “whitewash of justice.”
However, many of Smollett’s supporters have used the decision to exonerate him, with Black-ish star Anthony Anderson declaring he now hopes that Smollett will win an award at the upcoming awards ceremony for his performances on Empire.
“I hope to see him here,” Anderson told Variety. “I hope he wins. I’m happy for him that the system worked for him in his favor because the system isn’t always fair, especially for people of color.”
“So I’m glad it worked out for him,” he continued. “It’s not my place or any other person’s place to judge him or what not, but I’m glad [that] he’s nominated…I hope he wins because I’d be interested to hear his speech.”
What’s more? The National Association for the Advancement of Colored Persons (NAACP) initially blamed President Trump for Smollett’s hoax attack.
Elsewhere, Project 21, a national Black Leadership Network of conservatives, has demanded the NAACP to rescind its Image Award nomination for Jussie Smollet.
Follow Ben Kew on Facebook, Twitter at @ben_kew, or email him at bkew@breitbart.com.
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