EXCLUSIVESee Jussie Smollett's Plan For A Cash Grab With $10 Million Book Deal After Guilty Verdict
April 2 2022, Published 12:01 a.m. ET
Money talks! Jussie Smollett is up to his neck in bills after bailing himself out of jail, but he's working on a few deals to make some quick cash.
Smollett — who was convicted of disorderly conduct late last year — was released from jail on March 16 pending an appeal of his conviction after serving just six days behind bars.
An insider tells OK! that the 39-year old is now being courted by publishers hoping to land one of the most scandalous tell-alls in recent history.
"People are pitching him hard, and Jussie's been told he could get a $10 million deal, and way more depending on how much he dishes," says the insider.
The former Empire star — who was sentenced to 150 days behind bars for lying to police about being the victim of a hate crime in 2019 — was recently released on $150,000 bond while the case is on appeal.
Now, "he's desperate for a cash infusion," notes the insider. "The word is Jussie intends to spill on the cruel way he was fired from the show, the costars who betrayed him and the friends who refused to back him in his time of need."
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The actor, who has maintained his innocence, is "confident he'll be vindicated in court," the insider adds. "But whatever happens, Jussie's earnings have dried up, so there's no doubt he'll sign on the dotted line — even if he has to pen this book from a jail cell!"
Just days before his release from prison, Smollett's legal team filed an emergency motion to get him out from behind bars while his appeal is pending by arguing that Cook County Jail was not a safe place for him. The emergency motion also noted that the risk of catching COVID-19 posed a severe threat to Smollett, who reportedly has a compromised immune system.
As OK! reported, the entertainer's family claimed they were receiving harassing messages and phone calls directed at Smollett, including threats on his life, as well as racist and homophobic slurs.
