Will Smith has been sued by a tour violinist who is accusing the rapper of sexual harassment, wrongful termination and retaliation.
In the suit, filed yesterday and reviewed by Variety, musician Brian King Joseph names Smith and Treyball Studios Management as defendants and accuses Smith of “predatory behavior” and “deliberately grooming and priming Mr. Joseph for further sexual exploitation” while on his “Based on a True Story: 2025 Tour” this past spring.
The suit 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 upcoming album. As their relationship grew closer, Smith told Joseph that “you and I have such a special connection, that I don’t have with anyone else,” among other similar expressions.
Joseph, who previously competed on “America’s Got Talent,” joined the first leg of Smith’s tour in March 2025 for a show in Las Vegas, where hotel rooms had been booked for the band and crew members. His suit claims that his bag, which contained his hotel room key, went missing for several hours before management found and returned it to him, and that members of management were the “only individuals with access to [his] room.”
Later that night, Joseph returned to find that someone had “unlawfully” entered the room and left behind belongings including wipes, a bottle of HIV medication with another individual’s name, and a note that read, “Brian, I’ll be back no later [sic] 5:30, just us (drawn heart), Stone F,” which Joseph interpreted as a warning that “an unknown individual would soon return to his room to engage in sexual acts” with him.
He notified hotel security and Smith’s representatives and reported the incident to a non-emergency police line. He claims that just days later, a member of the management team “shamed” him for the incident and told him he was being terminated, suggesting that Joseph made the whole thing up.
A representative for Smith did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment.
The suit claims that due to the termination, Joseph suffered from PTSD and economic loss. He is suing for retaliation, wrongful termination and sexual harassment, and that damages be determined by a jury.
