Jada Pinkett Smith is being sued for $3 million in damages for intentional infliction of emotional distress by Will Smith’s longtime friend, who claims that The Matrix Revolutions star threatened him with physical violence in 2021.
Bilaal Salaam, who described himself in the lawsuit as “a best friend” of Will Smith’s for nearly 40 years, alleges in papers seen by The Independent that Pinkett Smith threatened he would “catch a stray bullet” or “go missing” if he didn’t stop talking about her personal business.
According to the filing, Pinkett Smith, 54, allegedly confronted Salaam, also known as Brother Bilaal, during a private gathering for Smith’s 53rd birthday celebrations in September 2021 with “approximately seven members of her entourage” and became “verbally aggressive” and demanded he sign a non-disclosure agreement “or else.”
Salaam's complaint claims that Pinkett Smith “threatened Plaintiff by stating that if he continued ‘telling her personal business,’” he would “end up missing or catch a bullet.”
After the alleged incident, Pinkett Smith's team followed Salaam to his car “while continuing to issue verbal threats,” the complaint claims.
Six months later, in March 2022, Salaam claims in the filing that he refused a request from a mutual friend to assist with “crisis management” following the 94th Academy Awards, when Smith famously slapped Chris Rock onstage after the comedian made a joke about Pinkett Smith’s shaved hair.
The filing alleges that Salaam refused to perform tasks that “he believed were illegal, unethical, or morally compromising, stating his conscience would not allow him to be involved in any cover-up or deceptive PR campaign.”
Salaam claims that after he refused to help, he received threats from members of Smith and Pinkett Smith’s inner circle and was the “target of a retaliatory campaign launched against him.”
He further claimed that the “campaign” against him heightened after he gave an interview with YouTuber Unwine With Tasha K. During the episode, Salaam claimed that he had walked in on Smith and actor Duane Martin engaging in a sexual act several years prior.
At the time, a representative for Smith said in a statement: “This story is completely fabricated and the claim is unequivocally false.” Martin has been approached for comment.
In an interview of her own at the time, Pinkett Smith laughed off the claim shortly after, saying: “Let me just say this. It’s ridiculous, right? And it’s nonsense.”
Pinkett Smith claimed in an interview with morning show The Breakfast Club that Brother Bilal “tried a shakedown, a money shakedown, that didn’t work. We’re gonna take legal action. Because it’s one thing to have your opinion about somebody, versus just making up salacious, malicious stories. So that’s actionable. So we gon' roll with that.”
In his complaint, Salaam pointed towards Pinkett Smith's statement in which she said that the couple would pursue legal action in response to Salaam's claims.
“Defendant never filed a lawsuit,” Salaam alleges. “The statement was false, reckless, and made with malicious intent to manipulate public opinion and damage Plaintiff's character.”
Salaam also alleges that the threats against him intensified when it became known he was planning a memoir about his time with the Smiths.
Pinkett Smith is depicted in the suit as trying to “bribe, intimidate and suppress” Salaam, who claims he has suffered damages like financial loss, reputational harm, physical health issues, including the onset of high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes and gaining 100 pounds, according to MailOnline. He also noted that the damages had led to “the complete derailment of his personal life and career.”
The Independent has contacted representatives for Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith for comment.
