The news of Jussie Smollett’s jail sentence has ruffled some feathers, including that of Tina Knowles-Lawson. On Wednesday (March 16), the famous philanthropist and mom to Beyoncé took to Instagram to voice her disagreement with the court’s decision to incarcerate the “Empire” star.
“No matter what opinion you have of whether or not Jussie Smollet did what he is accused of or not. The punishment does not fit the crime,” she wrote. “People walk away free from killing our people every day. How many instances of our young Black people have been murdered in the last year, and the people whom they were with are walking free! And what about the people involved in the treason at the White House? Most went unpunished!”
As fans know, Smollett’s hate crime hoax resulted in 30 months probation, five of which he’s required to spend behind bars. The punishment, Knowles-Lawson claims, is “unjust” for many reasons, including the fact that the actor “is not a threat to society.” She said his situation “is an example of the disparities between how we are treated as opposed to our white counterparts” and called on Black people to rally together and “make some noise” so the actor’s jail sentence can be commuted to probation.
In the IG post, Knowles-Lawson alleged that the court wants to “destroy” Smollett and intentionally “discredit” Black woman and former District Attorney Kim Fox. She implored her followers to do further research on the case and welcomed any contrasting opinions with the sole requirement that all messages are kept “positive.
The fashion designer is the latest celebrity to lend their support to Smollett. Recently, Taraji P. Henson used her platform to call for her television son’s release from jail in exchange for alternative methods of punishment.
Look below to see the post from Tina Knowles-Lawson.