Jussie Smollett’s Quick Jail Stay & the Battle for a Clear Mind
When the former Empire star found himself behind bars for just six days, he decided to do what he says was a family thing—fast. But it wasn’t a quick snack break; it was a full‑blown week of “no food, clear thoughts” that left him feeling more focused than a meditation guru on a caffeine high.
Fast‑Tracks to Clarity
- Duration: 6.5 days of confinement and 6.5 days of fasting.
- Why? “In my family we fast for clarity…never had a clearer mind in my adult life,” he told a listener on SiriusXM’s Sway in the Morning.
- Goal: Figure out if he’d end up stuck in jail for the next five‑and‑a‑half months and what life would look like.
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.”
The “Redemption? Not Here.” Idea
In his own words, the prison’s purpose is not to turn people into better versions of themselves. “That place is not meant for redemption. That place is not meant to make you come out better than when you were in,” he told the radio host.
- Reality of Surrender: He suggested that inmates often surrender to the system and the weight of old stereotypes told by a handful of “white men” explaining crime history.
- Mindful Moments: “You’re just left there with you, your thoughts, and these walls,” he mused, describing how confinement forces a forced introspective conversation with oneself.
The Bigger Picture
Jussie Smollett’s 2021 conviction stemmed from a 2019 incident that turned into a legal saga. He allegedly paid two men to stage an attack that didn’t happen. While his family’s defense echoes a plea for personal clarity, the episode sparked conversations about the role of the penal system and the absurdity of being “surrendered” in a space not designed to heal.
So, while he may have been freed after just six days, the stay served a bigger purpose: a flash in the pan of self‑clarity, a universe of introspection, and a frantic debate that continues long after the walls closed.
