Jussie Smollett donates $50,000 to charity in Chicago settlement, maintains his innocence

In a lengthy statement to Fox News Digital, Smollett said, "Over six years ago, after it was reported I had been jumped, city officials in Chicago set out to convince the public that I willfully set an assault against myself. This false narrative has left a stain on my character that will not soon disappear. These officials wanted my money and wanted my confession for something I did not do.

In April 2019, the City of Chicago filed a lawsuit against Smollett in an attempt to recoup the costs of police investigating the alleged attack. The actor told Fox News Digital "despite what happened there politically," he still has a place in his heart for the city.

Now, he said, he'll focus on moving forward.

"I will continue creating my art, fighting passionately for causes I hold dear and defending my integrity and family name with the truth," the former "Empire" star said.

In addition to the $50,000 he donated as part of his settlement, Smollett said he's also donating $10,000 to the Chicago Torture Justice Center, which "provides resources to communities healing from the violence of the Chicago Police Department."

"To anyone who has had to prove they have in fact been violated, you know how difficult this can be to navigate. I stand with and for you," Smollett said of the donation.

"Today we resolve a question about the state's responsibility to honor the agreements it makes with defendants," Mark Geragos, Smollett's lawyer, told Fox News Digital at the time. "We hold that a second prosecution under these circumstances is a due process violation, and we therefore reverse defendant's conviction."

"This was not a prosecution based on facts, rather it was a vindictive persecution, and such a proceeding has no place in our criminal justice system," another of Smollett's attorneys, Nenye Uche, told Fox in a statement. "Ultimately, we are pleased that the rule of law was the big winner today. We are thankful to the Illinois Supreme Court for restoring order to Illinois' criminal law jurisprudence."

Fox News Digital's Lauryn Overhultz contributed to this report.