Onetime Empire star Jussie Smollett closed another chapter in his years-long hate crime saga Thursday with the disclosure he’s agreed to pay $50,000 to a Chicago charity to settle a lawsuit brought by the city over charges Smollett faked the attack.

The city had sought reimbursement for investigating the crime, which they estimated cost Chicagoans $130,000.

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Smollett was convicted in 2021 on charges that he staged the racist and homophobic attack in 2019 on the street outside his apartment. His conviction was overturned last year by the Illinois Supreme Court, which ruled Smollett faced double jeopardy when he was prosecuted a second time, after the original charges against him were dropped in 2019.

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The state’s highest court didn’t weigh in on the merits of the case.

Chicago’s Law Department revealed details of the settlement made last month on Thursday. In exchange for dismissing the city’s lawsuit, Smollett will donate $50,000 to Building Brighter Futures Center for the Arts, a local organization that provides community, health, and education opportunities for underprivileged youth in Chicago.

“The City believes this settlement provides a fair, constructive, and conclusive resolution, allowing all the parties to close this six-year-old chapter and move forward,” a Law Department spokesperson said.

Chicago sued Smollett two months after his arrest, seeking reimbursement after investigators determined the attack was a hoax. Smollett filed a countersuit against the city for malicious prosecution, maintaining the attack was real.

Police and prosecutors said their investigation determined Smollett staged the attack against himself as a “publicity stunt” to leverage salary negotiations with Empire producers.

Under former Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, prosecutors dropped the charges against Smollett weeks after his arrest. However, questions about how Foxx handled the case led to the appointment of a special prosecutor who reinvestigated. Charges against Smollett were brought a second time.

The actor said he was on his way to a Subway restaurant near his home around 2:00 a.m. in January 2019 when two men, both white and wearing ski masks, yelled, “Aren’t you that fa***t Empire ni***r?” Both assailants then attacked him, according to Smollett’s recollection to police.

In the course of the fight, Smollett suffered a broken rib and contusions. He said his attackers poured a chemical substance on him, believed to be bleach.

Prior to the assailants leaving the scene, Smollett said they wrapped a noose around his neck and yelled, “This is MAGA country!”

Two brothers, Abel and Ola Osundairo, testified that Smollett paid them to stage the attack.

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