Jada Pinkett Smith asks court to toss lawsuit from husband Will Smith’s one-time friend

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Jada Pinkett Smith is requesting that a Los Angeles court throw out a $3 million lawsuit filed by musician Bilaal Salaam, who has worked with her husband, Will Smith, for many years.

The actress, 54, is asking a court to dismiss a lawsuit filed against her by Salaam, who claims she caused him emotional distress. According to legal documents obtained by Daily Mail, she argues Salaam’s claims are based on untrue and unproven statements.

According to court documents, Will Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, stated that Salaam intended to harass her family as part of a continuing public campaign, revealing he is obsessed with them.

The celebrity, originally from Baltimore, stated that the comments referenced in the lawsuit filed by Salaam are protected under the Constitution.

The actress, known for ‘Girls Trip,’ explained she was entitled to speak out about a deeply personal and publicly debated family issue.

Daily Mail has reached out to Pinkett Smith’s representative for further comment on the story. 

Salaam in the November 2025 suit said that he and Will Smith had been friendly for four decades. 

According to his testimony, problems began when Salaam refused to handle the actor’s public relations after the incident with Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars.

Salaam testified that he turned down the job because he didn’t want to do anything he considered unlawful, dishonest, or wrong.

Salaam claims that after he turned down their job offer, the Smith family began to retaliate against him, and this worsened when they learned he was writing a memoir about his time working with them.

According to legal documents, an associate of Jada Pinkett Smith warned him to stop the conflict before it turned violent, after hearing about a potential book he was planning.

According to legal documents, Salaam stated that there was existing friction with the Smith family before the well-known slap occurred.

According to court documents, Salaam stated that Jada Pinkett Smith was verbally aggressive towards him at a birthday gathering for her husband in September 2021. The event took place at Regency Calabasas Common, a theater in Calabasas, California.

Oh my gosh, you will NOT believe this! Apparently, Will and Jada Smith – or rather, Jada through her lawyer – actually threatened Duane Martin! I read the court documents, and it says she basically told him if he kept talking about their private life, he’d either disappear or… get shot! Can you even imagine? It’s insane! He was warned that if he didn’t stop spilling their secrets, things could get seriously dangerous for him. I’m completely floored; I’ve been following this whole saga, and this takes it to a whole new level of crazy! I just can’t believe they’d resort to threats like that. It’s terrifying!

According to Salaam, Pinkett Smith, accompanied by a group of seven people, insisted he sign a confidentiality agreement to prevent him from discussing what he described as her unwanted advances during their interaction at the theater.

Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith have been married since December 31, 1997, and share two children: Jaden, 27, and Willow, 25. Will Smith also has a son, Trey, 33, from a previous marriage to Sheree Zampino, 58.

Next month it will have been four years since Will Smith famously slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars. The incident happened after Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair.

Chris Rock made a joke referencing Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head, saying, ‘Jada, I love you, G.I. Jane 2, can’t wait to see it!’ This was a reference to the 1997 film ‘G.I. Jane’ starring Demi Moore, who famously shaved her head for the role. Pinkett Smith has alopecia, a condition that causes hair loss.

Smith walked onto the stage and slapped Chris Rock. He then went back to his seat and yelled at Rock twice, telling him to stop making jokes about his wife, leaving the audience shocked.

After winning the Best Actor Oscar for his performance as Richard Williams in King Richard, Smith gave an acceptance speech later that evening where he apologized to the Academy and his fellow nominees, but didn’t mention Chris Rock.

Since the incident, Smith has apologized several times. He also voluntarily left the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, anticipating the ten-year ban from attending the Oscars that followed.

Following the incident shown in a viral video, Will Smith apologized in July 2022 and stated his wife was not involved in his assault on Chris Rock.

He explained that he made his decision based on his personal experiences and history with Chris. He also apologized to his children and family for the stress and difficulty he’s caused them.

He explained that he contacted Chris, but Chris isn’t ready to speak right now and will be in touch when he is. Addressing Chris directly, he apologized for his behavior, saying it was unacceptable, and offered to talk whenever Chris feels ready.

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2026-02-17 07:08