Coronavirus

Smollett Returns to Instagram After Months-Long Hiatus With Quarantine Post

The post is his first on the platform since June 2019

NBCUniversal, Inc.

Outside of court appearances, Jussie Smollett has largely remained out of the public eye in the wake of the Chicago scandal that has him facing charges for allegedly staging an anti-gay and racist attack on himself.

The former "Empire" star went from victim to suspect to a free man to accused once again in the span of one year.

Now, the actor is comparing his hibernation from public scrutiny to those staying indoors due to a coronavirus outbreak in Chicago.

"Quarantine day 421," he wrote on Instagram Wednesday, accompanied by a video of him singing. "Hope y’all are staying safe. Spread love and kindness... not Rona."

The post is his first on the platform since June 2019.

Currently, all of Illinois is under a stay-at-home order as coronavirus cases spike across the state, particularly in Chicago and Cook County.

Smollett pleaded not guilty to new charges brought by a special prosecutor in February.

It marks the second time he has been charged in the ongoing case as he now faces six counts of disorderly conduct for allegedly "making four separate false reports to Chicago Police Department officers related to his false claims that he was the victim of a hate crime, knowing that he was not the victim of a crime," Special Prosecutor Dan Webb said in a statement at the time.

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