Jussie Smollett is opening up about his desire to become a father, admitting that he might be willing to go to some extremes to make it happen.
During a recent interview on The Morning Hustle, the actor opened up about his plans to start a family, revealing how his new film, The Lost Holliday, mirrors a personal dream of his.
“I wanna have a baby so bad,” Smollett admitted at the top of the interview.
He also mentions the fact that in The Lost Holliday, he plays one half of a gay couple going through the process of adoption, which is something close to his heart.
“Adoption has always been something that’s really, really close to me and I’ve always wanted to adopt,” he said. “There are so many children in this world…particularly in this country, that need to be adopted, that need to have good homes with people that simply want to love them and raise them right.”
While Smollet definitely wants to adopt, he also revealed that becoming a parent “the old-fashioned way” isn’t completely off the table. After one of the hosts asked about that possibility, Jussie laughed, “I don’t know, Kyle…but if I do it the old-fashioned way, I’ll let you know.”
Though Smollett clearly got a kick out of that idea, he didn’t exactly seem against it, especially after running into model Toccara Jones recently. The openly-gay actor admitted that seeing the America’s Next Top Model alum in real life “made me question all of my choices in life.”
While much of the conversation was light-hearted, Smollett acknowledged that moving forward with family planning had to happen after bringing his high-profile legal case to its conclusion.
“I had to get this off my back,” he said, alluding to the case. “Going into an adoption process or anything like that—it just makes it more difficult.”
In May 2025, Smollett reached a financial settlement with the City of Chicago, agreeing to donate $60,000 to local youth charities. He maintained his innocence and insisted the settlement was a step toward closure, not an admission of guilt.
Check out his full interview with The Morning Hustle down below:
