Jussie Smollett is one of the contenders on the fourth season of Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test, a competition series in which celebrities participate in military-like exercises. In an interview with People, he says he had a “very sobering” experience during his time on the show.
“It’s not always easy to be vulnerable,” he said, before touching on the physicality of the competition. “We’re not athletes, but we’re athletic. So it’s different. It’s very intense.”
He added that the hardest part were the mental battles he faced and overcame on the show. “Getting through that was really special,” he told People. “I hope that it’s the great equalizer and it’s also the great kind of reset of this is who I am and it’s all love.”
Special Forces marks Smollett’s return to television six years after he claimed he was the victim of an alleged hate crime in Chicago. He was starring in Fox’s Empire at the time, but was written out of the show’s final episodes following the allegations.
According to ABC News, Smollett filed a police report in January 2019 claiming he’d been attacked by two men yelling racist and homophobic slurs. The men later told law enforcement officials the actor had orchestrated the incident — an allegation Smollett’s attorneys denied.
Smollett was indicted on 16 felony counts of disorderly conduct for allegedly filing a false police report in March 2019, but the charges were dropped after he agreed to forfeit his bond and do community service.
He was indicted again in February 2020 on six felony counts of disorderly conduct for allegedly making false reports to police and was later found guilty on five of those counts. He was sentenced to 150 days in county jail but only served six; his release was granted after his lawyer filed an appeal.
The conviction was then overturned in November 2024. Smollett has consistently maintained his innocence.
Special Forces season 4 premieres Thursday at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Fox.
Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
