Jussie Smollett says he starved himself in prison to clear his mind

Jussie Smollett starved himself in prison.

The 40-year-old actor — who was convicted of lying about being a victim of a racist and homophobic attack back in 2019 and initially sentenced to 150 days in jail in 2021, but was freed after just six days behind bars — admitted that during his brief time behind bars he "fasted" for almost a week in order to achieve a "clear mind".

He said: "I was there for six and a half days. I fasted for six and a half days. I was fasting because that's what we do in my family. Like we fast for clarity... I have never in my life, at least in my adult life, been as clear of mind as I was for those six and a half days... I was fasting until I found out whether or not I was gonna be in there for those five and a half months. I just wanted to know what my life was about to look like."

The Empire star — who was found to have paid two men to attack him before being found guilty of five counts of felony disorderly conduct — went on to protest his innocence and claimed that the prison system is "not meant" for self-improvement.

Speaking on SiriusXM's Sway in the Morning show, he added: "As I'm sitting there, I'm like, 'I know that I didn't do this', but you'd have to be a different kind of person to really search and try to find the redemption in this. That place is not meant for redemption. That place is not meant to make you come out better than when you were in.

"There's something about being in there and having no choice but to surrender — not to the system, not to a judge or a bunch of old white men, ironically explaining to you about the history of hate crimes and lynching.

"And you're sitting there and being like, 'What? Who the f*** are you?' But you're surrendering to yourself and you're surrendering to — you're just left there with you, your thoughts, and these walls."

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