It’s the case that has divided the nation.

But the Chicago prosecutor who was responsible for dismissing the charges against Jussie Smollett has defended her actions. 

Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx said on Saturday that the Empire actor was treated no differently than thousands of other defendants.

Foxx made the emotional address at the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr.’s Rainbow Push Coalition. 

She Recused Herself From The Case

In January, Smollett was accused of staging what he claimed to be a racist and homophobic attack.

Foxx and her office have faced public backlash after they announced that charges against Smollett had been dropped, WGN-TV reported.

“I have been asking myself for the last two weeks what is this really about,” Foxx said. “As someone who has lived in this city, who came up in the projects of this city to serve as the first African  American woman in this role, it is disheartening to me…that when we get in these positions somehow the goalposts change.”

Foxx recused herself from the case after it emerged that she communicated with a relative of Smollett during the probe. However she welcomes an independent investigation into the way she and her office handled the case.

She Did Not Go Into The Specifics Of The Smollett Case

Speaking directly to a crowd of her supporters, Foxx maintained that her office dropped cases for nearly 6,000 low-level defendants.

Further, she said that under the law, Smollett could be fined a maximum of $10,000 and that the actor did pay that amount because his $10,000 bond was forfeited.

But despite critics arguing that Smollett never admitted his guilt, Foxx did not address specifics of the case. Several prosecutors and legal experts said they believed they could have proven the charges against Smollett.

There Have Been Calls For Foxx To Be Fired > > >