“Empire” actor Jussie Smollett has pleaded not guilty to 16 counts of disorderly conduct related to his involvement in an alleged hate crime hoax.

He appeared before his newly assigned judge, Steven Watkins, in Chicago on Thursday, days after a grand jury indicted him on 16 felony counts for allegedly lying to investigators, according to Fox News. His lawyer Tina Glandian entered the plea on his behalf.

Smollett, 36, first reported the attack in January, saying that two men attacked him while shouting racist and homophobic slurs at him. The actor also claimed they wrapped a rope around his neck and poured a chemical substance on him.

But a joint investigation by Chicago police and the FBI led authorities to cast doubt on his story. In late February, he was accused of lying about the story and paying the two men $3,500 to help him stage the attack, all because he was “dissatisfied with his salary” on the show.