The Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday overturned actor Jussie Smollett’s conviction for staging an attack on himself in Chicago in 2019 and lying to police about the incident.

Smollett, who is African American and homosexual, had told police that two men yelled racial and homophobic insults, put a noose around his neck and assaulted him.

Smollett appealed his conviction, arguing that the special prosecutor should not have been able to pursue the case after the Cook County state’s attorney had dropped the charges against him, according to the Associated Press.