Will Smith Sued by Violinist Brian King Joseph for Sexual Harassment
- - Will Smith Sued by Violinist Brian King Joseph for Sexual Harassment
Jack SmartJanuary 2, 2026 at 2:52 AM
1
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
Will Smith at the Grammy Awards on Feb. 2 -
Brian King Joseph, a professional violinist, has filed a sexual harassment complaint against Will Smith
The lawsuit details an alleged incident in which Joseph discovered evidence “of a sexual threat of violence” in his hotel room while working on Smith’s Based on a True Story: 2025 tour
Joseph is suing Smith and his associates for sexual harassment, wrongful termination and retaliation
A musician is suing Will Smith and his associates for sexual harassment, alleging wrongful termination and retaliation.
Professional violinist Brian King Joseph filed a complaint at the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, on Tuesday, Dec. 30 against the Bad Boys star, 57, and Treyball Studios Management, Inc.
The complaint claims that Smith “was deliberately grooming and priming Mr. Joseph for further sexual exploitation” after inviting Joseph to join his global tour, Based on a True Story: 2025, in November 2024.
It details an alleged “traumatic series of events” in March 2025, amid Smith’s tour, in which Joseph claims that he discovered that someone had entered his Las Vegas hotel room with no signs of forced entry. Evidence “of a sexual threat of violence” allegedly included a handwritten note reading, “Brian, I’ll be back...just us,” with a drawn heart and signed, “Stone F,” as well as “wipes, a beer bottle, a red backpack, a bottle of HIV medication with another individual’s name, an earring, and hospital discharge paperwork belonging to a person unbeknownst to” Joseph.
Tommaso Boddi/Getty
Brian King Joseph at the Media Access Awards with Easterseals on Oct. 8
Joseph alleges he "feared that an unknown individual would soon return to his room to engage in sexual acts" with him, according to the complaint.
PEOPLE has reached out to a representative for Smith for comment.
Following Joseph reporting the incident to hotel staff, a local non-emergency police line and Smith’s management team, the complaint alleges, a member of the tour management team later “shamed” Joseph and told him he was being terminated. Another violinist allegedly was hired to assume the same position on the tour, per the complaint.
— sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
The incident caused Joseph “severe emotional distress, economic loss, reputational harm, and other damages,” including “PTSD and other mental illness as a result of the termination,” reads the complaint.
Joseph, a Washington, D.C. native, competed on America’s Got Talent season 13 in 2018, placing as a top-three finalist. In December 2024, the musician posted a video of him playing violin onstage to Instagram, indicating in his caption that it was the first night of his touring with Smith.
MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty
Will Smith and his Jada Pinkett Smith in 2022
The new complaint follows a $3 million lawsuit filed Dec. 1 from former associate Bilaal Salaam (a.k.a. Brother Bilaal) against the Oscar winner’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, claiming she verbally threatened him. The husband-and-wife duo “are really mad and say it’s a lot of crap,” an entertainment source told PEOPLE, calling Salaam “an opportunistic person out to exploit them.”
Smith's Based on a True Story tour ran from June to September 2025 following the March release of his titular album.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
