Empire

Lindsey Pearlman, the "Empire" and "General Hospital" actress who was found dead in her car Friday ... had a history of depression before committing suicide ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Lindsey called her husband, Vance Smith, the day before her body was found, saying she was intent on ending her life. Her husband contacted police in a frantic effort to find Lindsey. He never saw her alive again.

We're told Lindsey drove to the base of Runyon Canyon in Hollywood -- a popular hiking spot -- and swallowed enough pills to fatally overdose. A hiker came upon her car last Friday, saw her body inside and called police.

We've learned Lindsey left a suicide note at her home and also left a note in her car ... telling whoever found her to call 911.

Investigators learned Lindsey suffered from bouts of depression over the years, and it appears it just became too overwhelming.

After her body was found, Lindsey's sister posted the phone number of the National Suicide Hotline on social media and said, "Please know that you are never truly alone."

The Los Angeles County medical examiner's office says an autopsy was performed but they are requesting more tests and studies before determining an official cause of death, but our law enforcement sources say it's apparent it was a drug overdose.

Lindsey Pearlman, the actress with credits that include "Empire" and "General Hospital" was found dead 3 days after disappearing ... the LAPD now confirms.

The body of the 43-year-old was found Friday at the base of Runyon Canyon Park in Hollywood ... a very popular hiking spot. Her body was discovered inside a car.

The cause of death has not been released, but Saturday Lindsey's sister said on Twitter, "Please know that you are never truly alone," as she posted the phone number to the National Suicide Hotline.

Pearlman, who also appeared on "Chicago Justice," "The Ms. Pat Show," and "Selena," was last heard from Thursday afternoon. She called her cousin and phone data shows the call was made a mile-and-a-half from where her body was discovered.

Lindsey's husband, Vance Smith, said, "The police found Lindsey. She's gone. I'm broken."

The family says to honor Lindsey -- an animal rights advocate -- please donate to the Sante d'Or, an L.A,-based animal rescue org.

The jury didn't buy Jussie Smollett's claim he was the victim of a racist-homophobic attack, but the leaders of Black Lives Matter certainly do ... and the org. is sticking by the actor.

BLM and BLM LA released a statement before the verdict, in support of the "Empire" actor, saying ... "So let’s be clear: we love everybody in our community ... we can never believe police, especially the CPD over Jussie Smollett, a Black man who has been courageously present, visible, and vocal in the struggle for Black freedom."

Now, after Jussie's been found guilty, BLM LA leader Melina Abdullah tells us that stance hasn't changed -- Jussie has their full support. Abdula says the organization refuses to abandon its people and stands on the principle that the justice system is corrupt.

Smollett's former "Empire" costar, Bryshere Gray, is standing by his friend as well, telling us, "My prayers, love and support is unwavering for my brother Jussie and the Smollet Family."

Smollett was found guilty Thursday on 5 of 6 felony counts of lying to Chicago PD.

From the jump, Jussie denied claims he staged the 2019 attack ... sticking to his story when he reported it to police with the rope still around his neck.

Jussie now faces a possible 3-year prison sentence, but considering he has no prior criminal record ... it's unclear if he'll get any time behind bars.

Jussie Smollett is guilty of lying to Chicago cops, and the world, about being the victim of a racist and homophobic attack, according to the jury -- or said more simply ... it was all a hoax.

Jurors found the "Empire" actor guilty of 5 of the 6 felony counts against him, and he stood stone-faced in court as the verdicts were read. Jussie was facing disorderly conduct charges for allegedly providing a false report to police ... with prosecutors ringing him up for each time he did it.

The first 5 counts were for lying on Jan. 29, 2019 to cops -- that's the night of the staged attack. The 6th, of which he was found not guilty, was for a separate interview with Chicago PD on Feb. 14 when he told a detective he was a victim of aggravated burglary.

The verdicts finally put the criminal side of this saga to bed. Jussie had maintained his innocence for years, insisting he did not hire brothers, Abel and Ola Osundairo to stage the racist and homophobic attack in the middle of a bitterly frigid Chicago night.

The brothers watched the guilty verdict announcement from an overflow room in the Chicago courthouse.

Now that Jussie's been found guilty he'll almost certainly have to pay restitution to Chicago in the amount of $130k -- the amount the city says it dropped on investigating the hoax attack.

During the trial, defense attorneys took the calculated risk of having Jussie testify ... something criminal defendants rarely do. While on the stand, he gave his blow-by-blow account of what happened during the attack ... explaining he'd gone out at 2 AM to buy eggs because the Osundairo bros. -- who he'd hired as personal trainers -- told him he needed protein.

Most importantly, his testimony aimed to poke holes in the Osundairos' credibility. For instance, he detailed sexual encounters he claims to have had with Bola ... even though Bola had stated the exact opposite under oath -- that they had NO sexual relation.

The brothers also testified Jussie paid them to buy supplies and provided instructions on where to meet him to carry out the "attack." In the end, the trial boiled down to a he said/he said, and obviously, the jury wasn't swayed by a celeb on the stand.

You'll recall ... Jussie initially claimed 2 white males jumped him, hurled slurs at him, punched him, threw a noose around his neck ... all while screaming, "This is MAGA country!!!"

He reported the alleged crime to police ... greeting them at his home with the rope still wrapped around his neck. Soon, doubts started to surface about Jussie's story -- and eventually, the police came out and claimed the guy had made the whole thing up.

Jussie denied that, but he was ultimately charged in connection to the alleged lie ... but, stunningly, those whopping 16 charges were dismissed -- with Jussie only having to forfeit his $10k bond as punishment. After much uproar, a special prosecutor was appointed, and he charged Jussie anew ... this time only charging with 6 counts.

There was also the issue of whether the Osundairo brothers were actually Jussie's drug dealers or not -- the bros claimed they weren't (that they were simply suppliers) but Jussie's team argued they were far more than just that ... seemingly trying to ding their credibility.

Despite Jussie testifying there was "no hoax" ... the jury wasn't buying it. He now faces a possible 3-year prison sentence, but it remains to be seen if he'll actually do any time behind bars. Keep in mind, he has no prior criminal record.

He was not taken into custody, and will remain free pending sentencing.

The City of Chicago had sued Jussie over lost resources in investigating his claims, but if he has to pay back that dough as part of his sentence ... that civil suit would be moot.

The prosecutor in Jussie Smollett's case raised a lot of eyebrows during his closing argument, by using the phrase "monkeyed around" while referring to the famous defendant.

Prosecutor Dan Webb was trying to make a point that Jussie kept a noose around his neck for a long, long time until police showed up at his apartment. He told the jury Jussie "monkeyed around" with the rope.

The phrase led to groans from Jussie's family ... with several of them shaking their heads in disgust. The jury heard and saw all of this play out ... and it certainly didn't score points for the prosecution that tried to prove the alleged racial attack on Jussie was fake.

This isn't the first time the prosecutor got schooled for a racial misstep. Just 2 days ago Jussie called him out in court for reading some of his texts and using the full n-word. The prosecutor actually backed down and had Jussie read the texts.

Jussie Smollett interrupted his own courtroom grilling to make an interesting request -- that the prosecutor does not use the n-word in full ... because he found it offensive.

The "Empire" actor stopped prosecutor Dan Webb -- who's white -- during his line of questioning during cross-examination Tuesday, and flat-out asked the guy to stop repeating the slur while quoting messages Jussie had sent to the Osundairo brothers on the day of the alleged attack.

Jussie said in court, "Can you spell or say the n-word out of respect for every African American in this room? You've been saying that word a lot."

Webb made a compromise ... asking that Jussie read the messages himself, which he apparently did. One of the messages Jussie read himself was from Abimbola, which said ... "N**** finally made it just landed haha."

After cross, Jussie stepped down ... and the defense rested its case. Closing arguments are expected to begin tomorrow.

Jussie Smollett just took the stand in his own defense, talking about his career and his sexual encounters with one of the men he says is responsible for attacking him.

Smollett was called as a witness for the defense Monday, and opened up about his family, the loss of his dad and finding success on "Empire." Jussie claimed to have made $25K-$35K per episode on the first season of the FOX show.

Jussie also got into how he met Abel, saying the two met at a gay club one night and went to a Chicago bathhouse where they did drugs, including cocaine and marijuana. During another visit to the bathhouse, Jussie says they made out and masturbated together.

We had Fox News correspondent Matt Finn on TMZ Live who was inside the courtroom when Jussie took the stand, and gave us a better idea of the actor's mood.

This is the second week of the trial, last week saw testimony from the Osundairo brothers, who Jussie says attacked him. Of course, the Osundairo brothers have maintained Jussie was in on the whole thing, and staged the attack with them for publicity.

Last week, Ola Osundairo fought back against previous claims Jussie had made calling him homophobic. He presented the court with a photo of himself dressed as a Trojan warrior and handing out condoms at a gay pride parade to show he was friendly with the gay community.

In describing the planning of the attack, the brothers testified Smollett originally wanted them to punch him, put a noose around his neck and pour gasoline on him. However, the gasoline was changed to bleach because the brothers felt gasoline could be too dangerous.

Jussie Smollett's claim one of the Osundairo bros is homophobic -- and that motivated him to pull off the alleged attack -- is getting shot down in court by the brother himself, who brought Pride pics as evidence.

Ola Osundairo -- one of the prosecution's star witnesses, along with his brother Abel -- testified Thursday in Chicago, saying he respects the gay community and had worked as a bouncer in a gay club called Boystown.

He stopped short of dropping the old "I have gay friends" trope but did say he'd been knee-deep in Pride celebrations. The jury was shown a 2015 photo of one such time -- Ola said he was "handing out condoms and flexing" while dressed as a Trojan warrior.

Get it? Condoms? Trojan? Anyway, there are no cameras in court, so we haven't actually seen the pic in question.

The prosecution's star witnesses in the Jussie Smollett trial may have a credibility problem with one of the Osundairo brothers ... over supplying Jussie with drugs.

Abimbola 'Bola' Osundairo testified he obtained drugs for Smollett, but didn't sell them to him.

The reason this came up during the trial ... back in 2019, texts surfaced between Jussie and one of the brothers about scoring marijuana, cocaine and ecstasy. Documents in the case refer to the transaction this way ... "Smollett would request ... weed, molly, or Whitney [slang for cannabis and controlled substances]." The document goes on to say Jussie used PayPal and Venmo to pay for the drug transactions. And, the document suggests Jussie tried to cover the drug deal by saying payment was for personal training.

Well, Bola testified that yes, he did supply Jussie with drugs, but added, "I'm not a drug dealer. I don't sell."

It's too early to know how this develops ... but jurors may find it hard to swallow Bola's testimony ... that a couple of trainers who have bit parts in a TV show would dig deep into their pockets to pay for the drugs of a wealthy actor. If the jury has issues with this, it could impact the brothers' credibility, which could create the reasonable doubt necessary to acquit Jussie.

The brothers were in court Thursday ... before entering the building they were seen praying together.

Vivica A. Fox is a ride or die friend, because she made it clear Tuesday night ... she stands by Jussie Smollett in bad times as well as good.

Vivica was at the TCL Chinese Theatre for the premiere of her movie, "True to the Game 3." Our photog asked about her ties with Jussie, and Vivica showed Smollett mad love.

What's interesting ... she never said if she believed he was actually attacked on the streets of Chicago back in 2019. Clearly, prosecutors don't believe him, because he's currently on trial for allegedly staging the incident. He's charged with 6 felonies and could be sent to prison for years if convicted.

A jury has been selected and testimony has begun. It's unclear if Jussie will take the stand in his own defense. Typically, defendants in criminal cases stay mum, but this case almost demands Jussie tell the jury his version of what happened.

Jussie Smollett's back in Chicago, finally standing trial for allegedly staging the racist and homophobic attack he reported to cops ... and he's brought lots of backup.

The actor was greeted by a huge crowd of reporters and photographers on his way into the courthouse Monday morning. Jussie was flanked by 7 family members, including his sister Jurnee Smollett, as he strode in to face charges of felony disorderly conduct over the alleged January 2019 attack.

A grand jury indicted Smollett last year on six counts -- all related to lying to cops about the incident -- and he's pled not guilty to all the charges.

This is take 2 for Chicago in prosecuting Smollett for allegedly lying. He'd originally been hit with 16 charges, but the prosecutor's office unexpectedly dropped all of them back in March 2019.

A special prosecutor then presented the case to a grand jury ... resulting in the 6 new charges.

You'll recall, Jussie originally said 2 white men had attacked him at 2 AM on a brutally cold night ... hurling homophobic and racist slurs and, pouring what he believed to be bleach, all over him. He also claimed they'd yelled, "This is MAGA country" at him and left a rope around his neck.

However, Abel and Ola Osundairo eventually came forward and claimed the whole thing was staged.

The brothers, who are definitely NOT white, told cops Jussie paid them to pull off the fake attack ... which pissed off Chicago PD and led to Cook County State Attorney Kim Foxx bringing the original charges.

The Osundairo brothers are expected to testify during Jussie's new trial.

Jussie Smollett is going to have to face the music after claiming he was attacked by racist, homophobic MAGA supporters -- and the City of Chicago's claim he made it all up.

The former "Empire" actor is heading to trial next month -- this after a Cook County judge shot down JS's final attempt to have the criminal case against him tossed ... setting the stage for Jussie to face a jury of his peers over the 2019 incident.

Smollett's attorney tried convincing the court that his client's rights were being violated, seeing how the guy had already forfeited his $10,000 bond and done community service ... which served as the terms he struck with Cook County prosecutors to have the charges dismissed.

Per reports, the attorney noted Smollett had held up his end of the bargain, saying ... "A deal is a deal. That's ancient principle." Not so, according to the judge -- who noted a new set of circumstances arose when a special prosecutor reopened the case ... and charged Jussie anew.

Because of that, the judge said he wouldn't tamper with the new case. As you know, Jussie faces charges of disorderly conduct for allegedly lying in the police reports about what happened to him.

As we've reported ... Jussie claimed he was jumped by two white males wearing red MAGA hats, who hurled racist and homophobic epithets at him ... poured bleach on him ... and then threw a noose around his neck. Jussie kept that noose on until cops arrived and got his story -- an interaction that their body cameras captured upon entering his Chicago apartment.

As the initial investigation unfolded, police say they found that his so-called attackers weren't white at all -- they were two Black men, the Osundairo brothers, whom knew Jussie well from working on "Empire" ... and who confessed to staging the whole thing at Jussie's behest.

There's footage of the guys buying the supplies they used that night ... and even walking past Jussie at one point on the streets. The brothers claim Jussie paid them to set up the entire attack ... something he's denied entirely at every turn, defiant to prove his innocence.

Bryshere Gray -- known for his role as Hakeem Lyon on "Empire" -- has entered a guilty plea in his domestic violence case ... and he'll have to spend some time behind bars.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Gray pled guilty to felony aggravated assault and, as part of his plea agreement, he's been sentenced to 10 days in county jail and 3 years probation.

As part of the deal ... Gray has also been ordered to pay restitution. He must also enroll in a domestic violence offender treatment program.

During his probation, Gray won't be allowed to consume any illegal drugs and he'll also have to submit to drug and alcohol testing. He's gotta stay out of trouble ... and he can't possess any stun guns, Tasers or any other kind of firearm.

He also must check in with his probation officer within 72 hours of being contacted by law enforcement and he needs written approval from police before associating with anyone who has a criminal record.

Terrence Howard claims he's getting hustled because 20th Century Fox is using his likeness from "Hustle & Flow" to promote "Empire" ... so now he's suing the studio.

Terrence -- who played Lucious Lyon on all 6 seasons of "Empire" -- just filed a lawsuit claiming 20th Century Fox gave him the runaround when asked how it came up with the "Empire" logo ... since he never sat down for a photoshoot.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Terrence says he ultimately determined the image was taken from the "Hustle & Flow" scene where "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" is being recorded in a studio.

According to the docs ... Terrence says "the still frame was selected, reversed (face looking left, not right), and subjected to CGI that simply distilled the cinematographer’s skilled capture of the head with vibrant light and shadow” to make the 'Empire' logo.

Terrence is upset because he says he would have gotten paid by Paramount -- the studio behind "Hustle & Flow" -- if 20th Century Fox got a proper license to use his image from the movie. He's suing for damages and wants an accounting of all the Empire merch using the logo.

Jussie Smollett still insists the alleged assault he suffered in January 2019 is not a hoax, but now says there's evidence to back it up ... and suggests there are forces working against him to keep the truth hidden.

The former "Empire" star opened up about the infamous "hate crime" that went down in Chicago -- more than a year and a half ago -- in a rare interview, because he's over staying quiet about the case.

Jussie tells activist Marc Lamont Hill he doesn't believe the City of Chicago or law enforcement will ever stop going after him, and he believes they are trying to make an example out of him ... even though he claims he didn't do what he's accused of doing.

Smollett blasts police for focusing on winning the case instead of trying to solve it based on truth, and hints there may be a conspiracy against him because of that. As he puts it -- law enforcement is willing to throw people under the bus, get people to lie, and switch the narrative based on their agenda.

As for the lack of video evidence of Jussie being attacked ... he claims it's out there. He also says there are 2 witnesses who can corroborate his story of seeing 2 white men -- one of them carrying a rope -- before he was attacked.

Smollett says this evidence has been buried by a bunch of lies and misleading information, but there's more. Jussie claims there's a tape that shows the action leading up to his alleged assault, but it cuts off right before it happens.

He doesn't say outright who may have doctored the tape, but strongly implies the Chicago PD may have had a hand in it.

To sum it all up ... Smollett says he now realizes he was set up from the beginning to look like he was lying, and he thinks it has something to do with "the MAGA of it all."

It seems Jussie believes if his alleged attackers hadn't yelled something suggesting they were Trump supporters, things would be different ... but he concedes he doesn't know that for sure.

What he does know for sure is he's done trying to convince people ... and the truth will eventually come out.

We broke the story ... on Wednesday, the City of Chicago requested the FBI hand over its records about the Bureau's probe into the "hate crime" and what may have led up to it.

So Jussie's right ... this case isn't going away anytime soon.

The City of Chicago wants a judge to force the FBI to hand over records of the Bureau's probe into the Jussie Smollett case -- especially his claim he was the target of a racist and homophobic threat before the infamous alleged attack.

According to new docs, obtained by TMZ, the City wants to know what the FBI dug up related to a letter that was sent to Fox Studios in Chicago on January 22, 2019 -- a week before Jussie claims he was attacked. The letter contained an "unknown substance" and contained "racist and homophobic imagery and slurs" ... according to Jussie.

The City also wants the FBI records about the "attack" itself ... according to the docs. Basically, Chi-town officials want to know if the FBI uncovered any evidence about Jussie faking the threatening letter or his "attack."

What's interesting here is the docs show the FBI told the City disclosing any of the requested material would "reveal information acquired as part of an ongoing criminal investigation."

Bottom line is ... as of now the FBI is refusing to hand over its investigation results because it still hasn't closed the case.

You'll recall ... in the aftermath of Jussie's "attack," President Trump mentioned the FBI was looking into the situation.