As actress Jenifer Lewis walked the red carpet at the Oscars Sunday evening, she took a few moments to weigh in on the controversy surrounding Jussie Smollett.
'With Black History Month coming to a close, I want everybody to hear this. Before you lie to us, remember Rosa sat on that bus,' Lewis told People Magazine's Deputy Editor, JD Heyman.
'Before you tell your tale, remember Mandela sat in that jail. Before you do anything, remember Dr. King, and before you connive and steal, remember Emmett Till,' she added as reality TV star Shangela Laquifa Wadley stood next to her.
The 'Black-ish' actress, 62, went on to say that she's one of most 'compassionate people on this planet'.
'But when we make a mistake... I mean who knows the true story. But I do know that we have to have compassion. But more than that, there has to be consequences for whatever happened.
'Because the temperament of the country right now is fragile. All I can say is let's all put one foot forward and stand with each other. We need to unite now. It doesn't matter who does what because there's going to be a lot of things going on. Our job is to stand together on the front line and say "No" when we know it's not right.'
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As actress Jenifer Lewis walked the red carpet at the Oscars Sunday evening, she took a few moments to weigh in on the controversy surrounding Jussie Smollett
'I mean who knows the true story. But I do know that we have to have compassion. But more than that, there has to be consequences for whatever happened,' Lewis said
Several celebrities have weighed in on the Smollett case, including Terrence Howard.
Howard, who plays Lucious Lyon on the Fox musical drama, defended his onscreen son in an Instagram post on Saturday night.
In the video, Smollett is seen tickling and playing with Howard's young son Hero on a private plane, although when is unknown.
'All your lil homies got you...We love the hell outta you,' Howard wrote in the caption for the clip, which has been viewed more than 377,000 times.
'How many teeth does he have?' Smollett is heard saying in the video before tickling Hero, who bursts into laughter.
Smollett then adds: 'Aw, he's such a sweet baby.'
The 36-year-old actor was arrested last week and charged with filing a false police report of a hate crime.
He claimed two white men wearing 'Make America Great Again' hats cornered him around 2am in Chicago on January 29.
Several celebrities have weighed in on the Smollett case, including Terrence Howard (pictured with Smollett in 2018). Howard came out in support of his embattled Empire co-star Smollett in an Instagram post on Saturday night
