Jussie Smollett is being held in the psych ward at a Chicago jail — and his brother is flipping out. The 39-year-old “Empire” actor, who remains at the Cook County Jail after being sentenced to five months behind bars for staging a hate crime, was thrown into the ward because of a paperwork snafu, his brother claims. “What’s very concerning is that there was a note attached to the paperwork today, and it said on the front of his jail cell … that he is at risk of self-harm,” Jocqui Smollett said on Instagram. “I want to just make it clear to folks that he is in no way shape or form at risk to self-harm and he wants to let folks know that, that he is very stable, he is very strong, he is very healthy and ready to take on the challenge that ultimately has been put up against him,” the sibling said in the post Saturday. “This is not right,” Jocqui Smollett said. “This is complete lack of justice. It’s angering, it’s an outrage.” Officials said last week that Jussie Smollett, who ranted he wasn’t suicidal as he was hauled out of court Thursday, would be held in protective custody. A law-enforcement source told TMZ that the troubled actor was in the psych ward because it’s one of the areas in the jail where high-profile inmates are housed. Jussie Smollett was found guilty on five counts of felony disorderly conduct after an eight-day trial stemming from the staged 2019 assault. The actor claimed he was the victim of a racist, homophobic attack in downtown Chicago in 2019 — with investigators later determining that he conspired with two brothers to stage the attack because he was unhappy with his “Empire” pay.
