Will Smith is being named in an emotional distress case, potentially drawing him into a long legal battle. Read on for the details of the case and how Smith is involved.
Will Smith Named as Co-Defendant in $3 Million Lawsuit
Actor Will Smith was named as a co-defendant in a $3 million case initially filed against his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. According to court documents, the couple's former friend, Bilaal Salaam, is accusing the Smiths of emotional distress.
Salaam initially sued Pinkett Smith in November, alleging that she had threatened him on several occasions. A new motion filed on Tuesday, August 18, claims that Will Smith was also a direct participant in the threats. A judge in Los Angeles has ordered that the couple must file a response within 30 days.
The most recent filing comes one month after Salaam asked that Smith testify in a deposition. Pinkett Smith's attorney addressed this request, saying that "there is nothing to meet and confer about. Mr. Smith is not a party to this litigation."
According to Salaam, both of the Smiths threatened him over a period of several years. Salaam said that Pinkett Smith said she would have him "killed if he continued to discuss her personal business or publish his memoir" during a phone call in October of 2021. Salaam said that Smith was with his wife at the time, allegedly saying, "You heard what my wife said." The comment is why Salaam claims that Smith affirmed and adopted Pinkett Smith's threat to kill him.
The phone call came out of an incident that unfolded a month earlier at Smith's birthday party. Salaam said that Pinkett Smith told him that he would "end up missing or catching a bullet" if he talked about what she said was her personal business. Pinkett Smith was joined by "seven members of her entourage" during the encounter at the party.
Salaam Refused to Help Smiths After Chris Rock Oscars Controversy
The following year, Salaam said that he was asked to help the pair with "crisis management" following the controversy that erupted after Smith notoriously slapped comedian Chris Rock onstage at the Oscars. Smith became angry when Rock made a joke comparing Pinkett Smith to G.I. Jane because of her shaved head. Pinkett Smith suffers from the autoimmune condition alopecia, causing hair loss.
Salaam refused the request to help manage the controversy brewing around the Smiths. The refusal prompted associates of the Smiths to contact Salaam and threaten to physically harm him.
The latest filing indicates that the threat "was part of the coordinated campaign of private intimidation," calling the behavior "extreme and outrageous." Salaam went on to say that the couple started a campaign against him in retaliation after he wrote a memoir about his connection with them. The retaliation allegedly continued after Salaam spoke poorly of the Smiths in a November 2023 interview.
Pinkett Smith has denied the claims. She accused Salaam of trying to extort her and her husband, saying that it was a "money shakedown." Pinkett Smith has also said that she plans to sue Salaam.
The filing also details what Salaam said was a "payment-for-retraction scheme" that was launched on the Smiths' behalf. Salaam noted that he was offered money to share a pre-scripted statement to the public admitting that he had lied about the Smiths.
Salaam said he refused to make the statement, resulting in the pair's longtime associate Charles Alston calling him to warn him to "remain outside of the United States," threatening that "there would be physical consequences if he did not comply." He was also told not to speak to the media about the situation. Alston has been named as a co-defendant in the case.
The motion stated that "Defendant Pinkett Smith and Defendant Smith each acted with intent to cause, or with reckless disregard of the probability of causing, severe emotional distress." Salaam is asking for $3 million in damages, costs of the suit, and the right to a jury trial.
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