Overview

• The Truth About Jussie Smollett?? began streaming on Netflix on Aug. 22, featuring Smollett’s first extended on‑camera remarks since his 2024 court victory.
• Smollett continues to assert innocence, saying he withheld his phone to conceal drug use and that a $3,500 check to Abel Osundairo was for training.
• Director Gagan Rehill presents the project as intentionally open‑ended, asking viewers to weigh competing narratives rather than delivering a conclusion.
• The documentary highlights ambiguous security video and split eyewitness recollections, with some identifying white assailants and others seeing Black men.
• Investigators previously said Smollett staged the attack; he was convicted in 2021 before the Illinois Supreme Court overturned the case in 2024 and barred retrial, with his civil dispute with Chicago settled in May 2025.