Will Smith is at the center of a new scandal in Hollywood after a musician who was part of his 2025 tour sued him for “predatory behavior” and “grooming” practices.
According to information published by The Guardian, Brian King Joseph, a violinist who participated in the 2025 tour of the well-known American actor and rapper Will Smith, opened a lawsuit in the Superior Court of California, in which he claims that he was “groomed” for sexual exploitation and that he was later unfairly fired after reporting a suspicious incident that happened in a Las Vegas hotel.
Both Will Smith and his company, Treyball Studios Management, are targeted in the lawsuit.
Brian King Joseph states that he was hired to tour the album “Based on a True Story“, after first taking the stage with Smith in December 2024. According to the complaint, during the collaboration, the artist allegedly made several remarks with a personal touch, one of them being: “You and I have such a special bond that I don’t have with anyone else.”
According to his complaint, the most tense episode occurred in March 2025 during a tour stop in Las Vegas.
Brian King Joseph claims that during that time, his bag and hotel room access card went missing for several hours, only to be returned later. When he returned to his room that night, he reportedly discovered clear signs that someone had entered without his consent: wet wipes, HIV medication issued in another person’s name, and a note that read: “Brian, I’ll be back no later than 5.30, just us, Stone F.”
The violinist states that these clues led him to believe that “an unknown person was going to return to the room to have sex” with him and, in court documents, he points out that members of the tour management team were “the only people who had access” to his room, which increased his suspicions related to the incident.
According to his statements, he immediately notified hotel security as well as Will Smith’s representatives and reported the situation through a non-emergency police hotline. However, he claims, the subsequent reaction was hostile, with him being mocked and “humiliated” by a member of the management team. In addition, shortly after, his contract was reportedly terminated, being accused of making up the whole story.
In the lawsuit, Brian King Joseph claims the termination caused him post-traumatic stress symptoms and significant financial loss, seeking damages for wrongful dismissal and retaliation.
What Will Smith’s lawyer says
However, the legal team of Hollywood star Will Smith firmly rejects all these accusations. The actor’s lawyer, Allen B. Grodsky, said the violinist’s claims were “false, unfounded and irresponsible.”
“They are categorically denied, and we will use all available legal means to respond to these allegations and ensure that the truth comes out.” the defenseman told the star.
The scandal comes in an already complicated context for Will Smith, whose musical comeback did not have the expected impact. “Based on a True Story” is the first album released by the artist after a 20-year hiatus and references, in part, the 2022 incident when Will Smith punched Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars.
Despite the promotional tour, however, the album had a modest run, failing to enter the mainstream charts and spending only one week at number 79 in the UK Albums Downloads Chart.
Music critics were not more lenient either. In a review published by Pitchfork, rated 2.4 out of 10, critic Stephen Kearse described the album as lacking in coherence and artistic depth: “‘Based on a True Story’ doesn’t have the natural calm of an artist in his comfort zone, nor the relaxed playfulness of one breaking free in his own sanctuary. It’s a campaign platform, devoid of perspective or style, uninterested in narrative or even construction, but always on the message: ‘Please take me back.'”
