Empire actor Jussie Smollett on Thursday pleaded not guilty on charges that he staged a hate-crime assault himself.
The actor went into the Leighton Criminal Courthouse past an army of TV cameras and reporters.
News about the attack in January attracted a lot of support for the actor who is black and gay.
Smollett has pleaded not guilty to the accusations of his attack being a hoax.
“There has been a lot of misinformation in this case that has been presented as fact and evidence against Mr Smollett, which is demonstrably false,” says Tina Glandian, Jussie Smollett’s attorney.
The actor was removed from the last two episodes of the latest season of Empire during the dispute.
The next trial is on the 17th of April.
by Alexandra Ramaite
