Jussie Smollett is back in the limelight just 3 months after getting released from prison ... after attending the BET Awards and getting incredulous reactions online.
The actor showed up at Sunday night's ceremony in LA, all smiles ... telling ET he's excited to be "expanding his empire."
He was asked how he feels about working his way back into Hollywood, but Jussie doesn't see it that way -- he says this has always been the plan.
Twitter was on fire as JS walked the red carpet and took his seat ... memes were created in his name, while some called out BET for allowing "race-baiting liars" in its space.
Sunday night's host, Taraji P. Henson, has been a vocal supporter of Jussie -- they both worked on "Empire" ... but she was silent about her co-star during the ceremony.
Jussie still insists he did not lie about what he says was a homophobic and racist attack, because IF he had lied he'd be a total piece of s**t -- and he claims everyone knows he's not that.
FYI -- Jussie's got a new project on the horizon, and he's working with BET to get it done. The upcoming project "B-Boy Blues" is his directorial debut, with the platform geared to put it up on their streaming service.