A new Netflix documentary, The Truth About Jussie Smollett?, has spotlighted one of the most divisive celebrity scandals of the last decade and put Jussie Smollett back at the centre of a global conversation.
The film, released on August 22, revisits the January 2019 incident in Chicago and lays out the competing narratives that have kept the case in the headlines ever since.
Director Gagan Rehill assembles interviews with Smollett, lawyers, Chicago police figures and the two brothers who have long been accused of involvement.
The documentary presents evidence and testimony from both sides and leaves the ultimate judgement to viewers, a deliberate choice that reflects the story’s persistent ambiguity.
The former ‘Empire’ star, Smollett appears on camera to insist he was the victim of a hate attack and to rebut the claims that he staged the incident.
The legal backdrop is complicated. Smollett was convicted in 2021 on counts related to filing a false police report and was later sentenced. That conviction was overturned by the Illinois Supreme Court in November 2024 on due process grounds tied to an earlier agreement with prosecutors.
The court’s ruling did not declare him factually innocent, but it did erase the criminal conviction. The split between legal outcomes and public opinion is a major theme in the documentary.
Reaction to the film and to Smollett’s renewed public defense has been predictably mixed. Some viewers and commentators say the documentary raises valid questions about the police investigation and the evidence used against him.
Others point out gaps in the timeline and remain convinced the original police account is credible. The movie has reignited debates about accountability, media coverage and how quickly public narratives form and harden.
Smollett has also been working to reshape his public life beyond the courtroom and the controversy. During a recent visit to Ghana he posted warmly about the country and its people, calling the experience joyful and home like.
The reception he received here, captured on his social channels and local reports, showed a different, more celebratory side of his public persona and underscored how global audiences respond to the story in varied ways.
For viewers, the documentary is less a verdict than a prompt. It collects evidence and testimony, but it stops short of a definitive explanation.
The film’s structure suggests the director wants audiences to wrestle with the reality that two conflicting sets of facts can coexist in the public record.
Whether that encourages greater skepticism of media narratives or simply reopens old divisions will depend on who is watching.
The Truth About Jussie Smollett? will not be the last chapter in this saga. Between lingering questions about the original investigation, the Supreme Court’s legal reversal and Smollett’s efforts to rebuild his career, the story remains unresolved.
The documentary brings the debate back into view and, for many, forces a fresh appraisal of what actually happened that night in Chicago.
Viewers can watch the documentary on Netflix and decide for themselves whether it clears the fog or adds new layers to an already complicated story.
