Following actor Jussie Smollett being sentenced to five months in Cook County Jail last week, his brother has claimed on social media that the actor is in a "psych ward."
Jocqui Smollett posted on his brother's Instagram Sunday claiming that the actor had been placed in the "psych ward" because authorities said he was a risk to himself.
"So Jussie is currently in a psych ward at Cook County Jail. What's very concerning is there was a note attached to his paperwork today and put on the front of his jail cell saying that he's at risk of self-harm," Jocqui Smollett said in the video.
Jocqui said that his brother was not at risk of harming himself and that "he is very stable."
"He is very strong. He is very healthy and ready to take on the challenge that has ultimately has been put up against him," Jocqui Smollett said.
The video comes after the actor addressed the court during his sentencing, saying he was not suicidal while claiming he was still innocent.
According to a Cooks County Sheriff's Office statement, the actor was only in the ward because it is an area used to house high-profile inmates.
"Mr. Smollett is not being held in solitary confinement," the Cooks County Sheriff's Office said in the statement, the New York Post reported. "The use of solitary confinement was abolished at the Cook County Jail in 2016, and any claim that he is being held in the manner is false."
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The statement said he could use the telephone, watch television, and interact with staff, spending "substantial time" not in his cell.
During his trial, Smollett was found guilty of five of the six charges brought against him, including felony disorderly conduct, for lying about an attack in January 2019.
After the trial, Smollett was taken into protective custody immediately, and the statement says this is a routine procedure.
"These protocols are routinely used for individuals ordered into protective custody who may potentially be at risk of harm due to the nature of their charges, their profession, or their noteworthy status," the statement said.
Still, Smollett's family maintains his innocence, claiming that he is wrongfully imprisoned.
"Jussie is innocent. And … you don't have to believe in his innocence to believe he should be free," his sister Jurnee Smollett wrote on Instagram.
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