Jussie Smollett announces engagement to boyfriend Jabari Redd
Jussie Smollett is engaged!
The "Empire" alum revealed the big news on Instagram over the weekend, posting a series of photos from his proposal to boyfriend Jabari Redd.
Smollett shared the moment unfolded just one day before his 43rd birthday celebration.
"I'll be spending my birthday with my Fiancé," he wrote in the caption. "He said YES. 💍."
The snaps in the post captured the moment Smollett proposed to Redd near a restaurant, from getting down on one knee to slipping the ring on his fiancé's finger.
The slideshow ended with joyful shots of the couple celebrating with hugs, laughter and a close-up of the ring.
Family and friends later flooded the comment section with love and congratulations.
"Screaming with tears of joy," Jussie's little sister and actress Jurnee Smollett wrote. "My whole heart loves both of you @jussiesmollett. Welcome to the family @jabriredd."
Their other sister, Jazz Smollett, added, "Yaaaass!!! Welcome to the family Jabari!!! Love y'all!! Sooooo happy for you both! 🥰🥰🥰."
The news comes after Smollett recently reached a settlement with the city of Chicago in a civil case related to the city's efforts to recover costs from its investigation into a 2019 incident that authorities claim was a staged hate crime. Smollett has always maintained he is innocent.
As part of the agreement, the city dropped its lawsuit in exchange for a $50,000 donation from Smollett to a local arts nonprofit, marking a formal end to the years-long legal battle.
In a statement shared on Instagram last month, Smollett said he chose to settle by making a charitable donation, not as an admission of guilt, but to move forward from what he described as a "false narrative" that he said "has left a stain on my character that will not soon disappear."
"These officials wanted my money and wanted my confession for something I did not do," he said. "Today, it should be clear… They have received neither."
He said his decision to settle "was not the most difficult one to make" and announced an additional $10,000 donation to the Chicago Torture Justice Center, saying he stands with others who've had to prove their truth.
Meanwhile, the city said in an official statement that the settlement offers "a fair, constructive, and conclusive resolution, allowing all the parties to close this six-year-old chapter and move forward."
In November, the Illinois Supreme Court overturned Smollett's 2021 conviction for allegedly filing a false police report about a hate crime in 2019, stating in its decision that the case violated his due process rights and raised questions about the state's obligation to honor agreements made with defendants.
In March 2019, Smollett forfeited his $10,000 bond to the city and agreed to perform 16 hours of community service as part of an agreement to drop all criminal charges related to the alleged false report, according to then-Cook County first assistant state attorney Joe Magats.
