Jussie Smollett filed a motion on Wednesday to have the lawsuit the city of Chicago filed against him moved to federal court, the Associated Press reports. Chicago filed a lawsuit against the Empire actor earlier this year when he refused to pay for the investigation into the hate crime he allegedly staged.
The Illinois state attorney's office dropped the charges against him in March. However, the Police Department and city officials believe he orchestrated the attack and are attempting to recoup $130,000 the city spent on police overtime during the investigation.
In the months that have followed, Smollett and his team have continued to deny that he staged the Jan. 29 attack in Chicago, and now he wants their lawsuit moved from state court. His attorneys argue that federal court will be more appropriate for the case because he's a California resident even though he lived in the city while filming Empire.
Earlier this week, Smollett's camp made it clear they weren't happy with what they claim are dishonest news stories about the incident. His team pointed to the media's misinterpretation of a series of texts between Smollett and Abel Osundairo, one of the personal trainers allegedly involved in the attack. "Might need your help on the low. You around to meet up and talk face to face?" Smollett's text to Osundairo read.
However, Smollett has insisted that the text, which occurred four days before the alleged attack, was him requesting a herbal steroid that's illegal in America. Osundairo, though, could purchase it for him legally in Nigeria. After he received the text, Osundairo's search history revealed that he searched for "banned supplements" and "steroids." Osundairo has been accused of helping stage the attack, although as Smollett's team noted, he sent a text to the actor after he heard the news, too. "Bruh say it ain't true. I'm praying for speedy recovery. Shit is wild," Osundairo wrote.
