The American actor and singer Will Smith has been sued by the violinist who was working on his last tour, who has accused him of sexual harassment, unjustified dismissal and retaliation, reports the magazine Variety, accusations that he has rejected. In the lawsuit, filed yesterday and to which media such as Variety and the Fox network have had access, musician Brian King Joseph includes Smith and the management of Treyball Studios as defendants.
The violinist directly accuses the actor of “predatory behavior” and “deliberately preparing Mr. Joseph for further sexual exploitation” during the tour in which he participated last spring and which was named Based on a true story: 2025, indicate both means. The lawsuit alleges that Smith hired Joseph in November 2024 to perform at a show in San Diego and was subsequently invited to join his 2025 tour and play on his next album. As their relationship grew closer, Smith told Joseph, “You and I have such a special connection that I don’t have with anyone else,” among other similar expressions, according to the lawsuit.
Joseph, who previously competed on the television show America’s Got Talent, joined the first leg of Smith’s tour in March 2025 for a concert in Las Vegas, where hotel rooms had been booked for the band and crew. In his complaint he states, according to Varietythat her purse, which contained her room key, was missing for several hours before management found it and returned it to her, and that her members were the “only ones with access to (her) room.”
Later that night, Joseph returned to find that someone had broken into the room and left several belongings, including wet wipes, a bottle of HIV medication with someone else’s name on it, and a note that said, “Brian, I’ll be back at 5:30 at the latest, just us (a drawn heart), Stone F.” The violinist interpreted the message as a warning that “a stranger would soon return to his room to have sexual relations” with him.
The musician informed hotel security and Smith’s representatives, and reported the incident to the police. A few days later, a member of the management team “humiliated” him about the incident and told him he was being fired, suggesting that Joseph had made it all up. The lawsuit alleges that Joseph suffered post-traumatic stress disorder and financial loss as a result of his firing, claims he suffered retaliation, wrongful termination and sexual harassment, and requests that a jury determine damages.
“Mr. Joseph’s accusations against my client are false, unfounded and reckless,” he declared, for his part, to People Allen B. Grodsky, Smith’s attorney, in a statement sent to the outlet. “We categorically deny them and will use all legal means available to address these accusations and ensure that the truth is clarified,” he said.