Jussie Smollett reveals he's engaged to actor Jabari Redd: 'He said YES'
Jussie Smollett celebrated his birthday as an engaged man.
The former "Empire" star, 43, revealed in an Instagram post that he is engaged to actor Jabari Redd. Smollett shared a gallery of photos showing himself down on one knee and presenting a ring to Redd, who looked elated.
"I'll be spending my birthday with my Fiancé … He said YES. 💍," Smollett, who turned 43 on Saturday, June 21, wrote in the caption.
Redd has appeared on shows like Showtime's "The Chi" and starred in "The Lost Holliday," a 2024 film directed by and starring Smollett.
Smollett's sister Jurnee Smollett celebrated his engagement in the comments of the Instagram post, writing that she was "screaming with tears of joy!" She added that "my whole heart loves both of you" and welcomed Redd "to the family." Smollett's sister Jazz Smollett also commented, "Yaaaass!!! Welcome to the family Jabari!!! Love y'all!! Sooooo happy for you both."
Jussie Smollett conviction in hate crime hoax overturned by Illinois Supreme Court
The engagement news comes more than six years after Smollett was accused of staging a fake hate crime against himself in 2019. He claimed at the time that he was attacked by men who yelled homophobic slurs at him in Chicago.
Jussie Smollett says he has 'to move forward' after alleged hate crime hoax
Smollett was charged with lying to police about the attack, and he was convicted of felony disorderly conduct in 2021. But in November 2024, the Illinois Supreme Court overturned the actor's conviction, determining that he should not have been charged a second time for the same incident after charges against him were initially dropped in 2019.
Smollett has repeatedly denied staging the hate crime and has maintained that the attack was real.
Smollett reached a civil settlement with the city of Chicago earlier this year, according to NBC News. In a statement released on Instagram, the actor said he would pay $50,000 to a local nonprofit.
"What I have to do now is move forward," he said. "I will continue creating my art, fighting passionately for causes I hold dear and defending my integrity and family name with the truth."
Smollett previously told People magazine in an interview in September 2024, "I've moved on and I know that the world, one day, and it might be long after I'm gone, who knows, but one day the world is going to fix this. I just can't wait for that to happen because I have a life to live. But the world is going to fix it all."
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