It’s a dirty shame that we had to wait nearly three years for Jussie Smollett to finally get his constitutionally guaranteed right to a speedy trial by a jury of his peers. But here we are. Finally.

And Juicy, that “famous French actor” of comedian Dave Chappelle’s most tear-jerkingly funny (albeit crude) takedown, has some serious ‘splaining to do. But he’s not alone. If misery loves company, Smollett has plenty of it. As for that company: Where to start?

“Jussie Smollett is one of the kindest, most gentle human beings I know,” said then-presidential candidate Kamala Harris. “I’m praying for his quick recovery. This was an attempted modern day lynching. No one should have to fear for their life because of their sexuality or color of their skin. We must confront this hate.”

What an ignorant, ill-conceived, off-the-rails take this is. For example, what manner of “kindest, most gentle human beings” inflame the passions of a deeply divided nation by staging fake hate crimes whose perpetrators happen to be one’s political enemies? And what kind of responsible public servant buys such a tale without first looking into it, and without first thinking about the naked implausibility of it, and without using such racially incendiary language as a “modern day lynching”?

Of course, Harris wasn’t alone. Those gullible enough to believe Smollett’s story weighed in immediately, and en masse, from Joe Biden to Maxine Waters to Cory Booker to Eric Swalwell to Bernie Sanders.

The story, were it not such a damned despicable act of racial arson, would be chef’s-kiss hilarious: On January 29, 2019, two Trump-supporting, MAGA-hat-wearing thugs were out at 2:00 a.m. on the coldest night of the year in a trendy part of downtown Chicago, when they happened to spot a bundled-up third-rate actor from a decidedly non-Trumpy TV series emerging from a Subway restaurant down the street. So they called out to him with some racist and homophobic slurs as they approached, then they beat him up, put a noose around his neck, poured bleach on his head, and shouted that this neighborhood, which had probably gone 85-15 for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump in 2016, was “MAGA country.”

Hey, what’s not to believe?

But Jussie Smollett (pronounced Juicy Smool-YAY) wasn’t finished just yet. With a half-eaten Subway sandwich by his side and a noose still draped around his neck, he called the cops to report the fairy tale.

Unfortunately for Jussie, the police then began to do what police tend to do, and his fake hate crime began to fall apart. Those Trumpian thugs turned out to be Nigerian brothers and associates of Smollett. Some six weeks later, the Cook County State’s Attorney office filed a 16-count felony indictment against him, including charges that he’d staged the attack and made numerous false statements to police. On top of that, Smollett had earlier added to his legal jeopardy when he engaged in a bit of mail fraud by sending himself a racially threatening letter. But then, just three weeks later, the same state’s attorney office dropped the charges in exchange for 15 hours of community service and the forfeiture of his $10,000 bond. How his legal team quietly managed to work such a sweetheart deal behind the scenes is but one more example of our two-tiered justice system — one system for those on the Left, and another for those on the Right — and it should trouble every American who believes in equal justice under the law.

If this guy weren’t so stupid, he’d be a real menace to society. As it is, he’s merely a cartoon character and an embarrassment to the Left. Which, we suppose, is just fine with us.

Smollett is in court this week, and he’s charged with felony disorderly conduct. It’s a class-4 felony, and it carries a sentence of up to three years in prison.

Defense attorney Nenye Uche says his client is the real victim here, though, and he’s trying to make the case that the two Nigerian brothers attacked Smollett because, well, because they just didn’t like him. Never mind the $3,500 check Smollett paid to the men to stage the attack. No, his lawyer says, that was for them to train him for an upcoming music video. Uh-huh.

Adding to the mountain of evidence against Smollett is the existence of video footage from the day prior to the Attack of the Nigerian MAGA Men, which, according to prosecutors, shows our hero conducting a dry run of the hoax.

Even if he’s convicted — and he should be — no one seriously believes he’ll spend any time behind bars. But he should. Indeed, we should make an example out of Jussie Smollett. We should send a strong message to all the other reprehensible little would-be racial arsonists who dream of starting their own little brushfires.

Fake hate crimes are a serious problem in this country, and they keep happening because the real thing just doesn’t happen nearly often enough for the narrators. Fake hate crimes are one of the weapons by which America-hating Marxist leftists push their narrative that this is an irredeemably racist nation whose framework is one of white supremacy. It isn’t. And we should denounce and punish those who are hell-bent on spreading this awful lie.

As for Juicy Smoolyay, there’s simply no excusing what he did. Still, we hope he doesn’t beat himself up about it.