Jussie Smollett was all smiles during a day at the beach in Hawaii on Wednesday as he enjoyed some down time with his family while the legal fallout from his sensational case raged on in Chicago.
The 36-year-old Empire actor was pictured laughing as he ate , talked to his sisters and unloaded a car with children’s bags and towels for a fun-filled day out.
They were spotted at the Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park in Kailua on the Big Island.
It is unclear how long he has been in Hawaii. His sisters, Jazz and Jurnee, supported him throughout his case but did not attend court as frequently as his brothers did.
The actor was last seen flying in to Los Angeles within days of having 16 felony counts of lying to the police dropped.
Having a ball: Jussie Smollett was pictured on a Hawaii beach with his family on Wednesday. laughing and smiling as he enjoyed some down time after having the 16 felony counts against him dropped
The 36-year-old Empire actor was in high spirits as he unloaded beach supplies from the car and snacked on what looked like a Dorito
Wearing his signature silver aviator glasses, Smollett seemed relaxed as he padded about the parking lot before loading up with items to take to the beach.
He wore a white t-shirt, black hat, black shorts and sandals.
At times, the star seemed tense as he took a phone call and sat in the car but his good mood reappeared as he made his way to the water with his nieces, nephews, sisters and brother-in-law.
Smollett was accused of staging an attack on himself on January 29 to try to get a raise on Empire. Police say he paid Abel and Ola Osundairo to beat him in what he then described as a racist, homophobic attack by two Trump-loving perpetrators.
The case against him was suddenly and unexpectedly dropped last month by the State’s Attorney’s Office in questionable circumstances.
State Attorney Kim Foxx, whose office was in charge of the probe, has faced repeated calls to resign over her handling of the case.
Finishing off a snack, the 36-year-old Empire star seemed oblivious to the chaos engulfing the Chicago’s elected officials as a result of his case
The star said after having the charges dropped that he was excited about resuming his career and activism on causes close to his heart
Smollett arranges towels for his family and holds on to buckets for his nieces and nephews to make sandcastles with before heading to the beach
The star seemed engrossed in conversation with his sister Jazz as she unloaded boogie boards from their car. He carried his niece’s unicorn backpack to the sand
Smollett wore black shorts, a white t-shirt, blue slides and a black hat along with his signature silver sunglasses which were a common fixture in his court appearances in Chicago
Smollett was also less smiley while sitting in the car. He appeared to be looking at something on his phone
Smollett looks at his phone while waiting for his family to gather their things and head towards the beach. It is unclear if he will return to Empire or what his next acting gig will be
She exchanged text messages with members of Smollett’s family in the early stages of the investigation and tried, at their request, to convince the Chicago PD to let the FBI take the lead.
The Chicago Police Department’s Superintendent, Eddie Johnson, was aghast when her office decided to drop the case as was Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
They say it sent a clear message that Smollett was favored because he has friends in high places and there was widespread public outcry over the decision too.
The police union in Chicago has passed a vote of no confidence in her and even attorneys who used to work for her and calling for her to be investigated. Among them is Saani Mohammed who filed a petition asking for the investigation into Cook County State’s Attorney Kimberly Foxx’s actions over the decision to drop the 16 felony charges against the Empire actor.
The Empire actor charged towards the beach with his niece’s unicorn backpack on and was also carrying a brown paper bag
Smollett follows his niece into the national park on Wednesday, carrying a bunch of towels with him. His lawyers say the city of Chicago’s treatment of him verges on harassment
The 36-year-old removed his hat before making his way onto the beach on Wednesday. It is unclear how long he will remain in Hawaii
The family maintains that he is innocent and has been victimized by the Chicago police department. Jazz, pictured, worked as a campaign surrogate for Barack Obama years ago. It was a former Obama-aide who asked the Chicago State’s Attorney to intervene in the probe and have it turned over to the FBI
Smollett accompanies his sister Jazz and his niece to the sand, dutifully carrying a bunch of towels for the group. His family supported him throughout the legal saga but his sisters did not join him in court
Smollett thanked his family for their support after the charges were dropped. His mother, Janet, has not been seen since he was arrested and she was not pictured on the outing in Hawaii
Also there was the star’s other sister, Jurnee Smollett-Bell. She is also an actress, known for her appearances on Friday Night Lights, and her activism. She too campaigned for the Obamas
Jazz, Jurnee and Jurnee’s husband Josiah are shown walking towards the beach with Smollett trailing behind them
Smollett has been surrounded by his siblings publicly since the scandal broke. His brothers, who attended court with him, were not there for the beach outing on Wednesday
According to court documents, Mohammed, who until recently worked in Foxx’s office, wrote that a prosecutor should investigate if Foxx ‘acted to impede the investigation… concealed evidence, and/or intentionally misled the public’.
Foxx also improperly ‘used her position to intervene in the investigation’, after meeting with one of Smollett’s relatives before the charges were dropped, the filing states, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Smollett’s team has never offered an alternative explanation for why the brothers, who he knew and had paid for personal training, would attack him.
One of his lawyer’s most bizarre attempts at explaining the case however was that he told police one of his attackers was white because the Nigerian brothers ‘might have been wearing white make-up’.
The brothers told police Smollett enlisted them to beat him up and that he betrayed them by then going to the police, claiming to know nothing about the incident.
Smollett was arrested in February for allegedly lying about the attack. Police say he paid Abel and Ola Osundairo to attack him and that he thought he could use it as leverage to get a raise on Empire, a claim he denies