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Smollett served five days in prison after his ruling.

In 2019, Empire actor Jussie Smollett reported that he had been the victim of a racially and sexually-motivated assault hate crime. However, as the authorities investigated the masked men who allegedly perpetrated the crime, it was revealed that Smollett was the one who had orchestrated the attack on himself. This past December, Smollett was convicted by a jury for five counts of disorderly conduct, including lying to the police, and was sentenced to 150 days in prison, 75 with good behavior. Smollett began his sentence last week.

However, after only five days in prison, Smollett has been released. His lawyers had successfully convinced an appeals court that he should not be incarcerated while his case awaits appeal. The condition for this temporary release is that Smollett must post a personal recognizance bond of $150,000 that will only need to be paid if he misses any of his appointed court dates.

BREAKING: Convicted actor Jussie Smollett has been ordered released from jail pending appeal of his 150-day sentence imposed last week for staging a hoax hate crime on himself. https://t.co/356VqGEb8m

— Chicago Tribune (@chicagotribune) March 16, 2022

One of the primary points with which Smollett’s attorneys argued for his appeal and temporary release is that Smollett may be in danger of physical harm from the other inmates of Cook County Jail should he remain. The court agreed, though the office of the special prosecutor lodged their objection, calling the point “factually incorrect.”