Expressing her happiness over the clearance of her 'Empire' co-star from false attack report allegations, the 'What Men Want' actress gushes, 'Thank God the truth prevailed.'

• Mar 27, 2019

AceShowbiz - Taraji P. Henson is thrilled "the truth has finally been set free" in the Jussie Smollett case.

The "Empire" actor faced 16 felony counts for allegedly lying to police in Chicago about being attacked by racists outside his apartment in January, amid claims suggesting he had staged the ordeal for publicity.

He maintained his innocence and pleaded not guilty to the disorderly conduct charges, and on Tuesday, March 26 it was announced that all criminal counts against Smollett had been dropped, and his record wiped clean.

Following the surprising news, his "Empire" co-star Taraji, who plays his character Jamal Lyon's mother Cookie on the hit U.S. TV show, told USA Today she's more than happy with the result of the case.

"I'm happy that the truth has finally been set free, because I knew it all along," she smiled. "We're all happy for him, and thank God the truth prevailed."

Taraji stood by Jussie, 36, from the very beginning, when he was accused of lying about the attack, and explained that she'd done so "because I know him and I know his track record".

"I'm not going to jump on clickbait just because someone says something derogatory about a person I know and love," she added. "I'm not easily swayed like that. Those little clickbait (reports) weren't enough to deter me from his immaculate track record. I know the type of activism this young man does in his community, I know that he's a giver – he's not an attention-seeker."

The 48-year-old actress continued her rant to slam those who had changed their opinions about the Jussie attack following the initial claims that it was part of an elaborate hoax.

"When I know someone, there's nothing you can say to make me flip on them," she continued. "And that's what we miss in this world. We need people that stand by us. Whatever happened to that? Why are we so easy to believe strangers over people we know?".

Despite the charges against Jussie being dropped, there are still some who continue to question the actor's innocence, such as Chicago police chief Eddie Johnson and Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who both blasted the Cook County State's Attorney for dropping the disorderly conduct case just days before it was due to go to trial.

And case prosecutor Joseph Magats, the First Assistant Cook County State's Attorney, stated in an interview with CBS Chicago that he does "not believe he (Jussie) is innocent", and in fact thinks he's guilty. As to why the case was dropped, Joseph said the decision was "based on all the facts and circumstances" and "based on his lack of criminal background".