Singer and actor Will Smith has been sued for sexual harassment by violinist Brian King Joseph.
On the 1st (local time), U.S. outlet People reported that Brian King Joseph filed a complaint on Dec. 30 in the Los Angeles County Superior Court in California against Will Smith and his company, Treyball Studio Management.
According to the complaint, Smith invited Joseph to his global tour in November 2024 and claimed he "intentionally groomed and prepared Joseph to be a target for sexual exploitation."
The complaint described a "shocking series of incidents" that occurred in March 2025 during the tour. Joseph said he discovered signs that someone had entered his hotel room in Las Vegas at the time and that there was no sign of forced entry. He said he found "evidence suggesting sexual violence" in the room.
He said the evidence included a handwritten note reading "Brian, I'll be back soon... just the two of us" with a heart, and a signature reading 'Stone F,' and that there were also wet wipes, a beer bottle, a red backpack, a bottle of HIV medication labeled with another person's name, and a stranger's hospital discharge papers.
In the complaint, Joseph said he "felt an intense fear that an unknown person would soon return to the room and perform a sexual act on him."
Joseph said he reported the incident to hotel staff, the local nonemergency police number, and Smith's management team, but later someone from the tour management "shamed him" and told him he was fired. He added that another violinist was hired on the same tour to replace his position.
The complaint states that the incident caused Joseph "severe emotional distress, economic loss, reputational harm and other damages," and that after being fired he has experienced mental illnesses including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Joseph is from Washington, D.C., and placed in the top three on season 13 of America's Got Talent, which aired in 2018. He posted a video on Instagram in December 2024 of himself playing the violin on stage, saying that the post was from the first day of Smith's tour.
This lawsuit was filed after a Dec. 1 lawsuit earlier in December in which former aide Bilal Salam (stage name Brother Bilal) sued Will Smith's wife Jada Pinkett Smith for $3 million (about 400 million won). At the time, Salam alleged that Jada Pinkett Smith had verbally threatened him.
A source in the entertainment industry said the couple "are very angry about these allegations and view them as completely ludicrous." The source added, "They see Salam as an opportunist trying to exploit them."
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