Actor Jussie Smollett, one-time star of the TV drama Empire, was found guilty on Thursday of staging a hate crime against himself in what prosecutors said was a bid to gain sympathy and boost his career. Prosecutors said Smollett, who is Black and gay, lied to police when he told them that he was accosted on a dark Chicago street by two masked strangers in January 2019. The actor faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison for each count when he is sentenced, although he could be given probation.
