Will Smith sued over retaliation, sexual harassment
Will Smith is facing a lawsuit from a violinist who alleges the actor fired him in retaliation for reporting a sexual assault during his tour.
Brian King Joseph is suing Smith and his company, Treyball Studios Management, claiming wrongful termination following an incident in March on Smith’s Based on a True Story 2025 tour in Las Vegas, News.Az reports, citing USA Today.
According to a civil complaint filed Wednesday, Dec. 31, in a Los Angeles court, Joseph alleges that when he returned to his hotel room—booked by Smith’s company—he discovered that someone had entered and left a sexual message, wipes, a beer bottle, HIV medication under another person’s name, and hospital discharge paperwork belonging to someone else.
Joseph said the note read: "Brian, I'll be back no later [sic] 5:30, just us [drawn heart]," and was signed "Stone F."
Joseph said he reported the situation to hotel security as well as tour management, who accused him of lying and blamed him for the incident. He said he was fired days later.
The violinist's lawsuit further alleges that Smith had been "grooming and priming" him "for further sexual exploitation" since meeting in November 2024, given they "began spending additional time alone" in the months before the tour. Joseph claims Smith at one point commented: "You and I have such a special connection, that I don't havewith anyone else."
"The sequence of events" and "circumstances of the hotel intrusion all point to a pattern of predatory behavior rather than an isolated incident," Joseph claims.
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