Brian King Joseph accused the rapper of “predatory behavior” in a lawsuit filed in California this week.
Will Smith is being sued by a touring violinist alleging sexual harassment, wrongful termination and retaliation.
Brian King Joseph filed the suit in California Superior Court in Los Angeles on December 30 against Smith and Treyball Studios Management. She accuses Smith of “predatory behavior” and to have “deliberately prepared and conditioned Mr. Joseph for further sexual exploitation” before his tour Based on a True Story: 2025.
The suit alleges that Smith hired Joseph in November 2024 to perform at a show in San Diego. The rapper then invited Joseph to join his 2025 tour and perform on his upcoming album. The complaint claims that Smith once told Joseph: “You and I have such a special connection that I don’t have with anyone else. »
A series of traumatic events
Joseph alleges a “series of traumatic events” occurred in Las Vegas in March 2025, where Smith was performing. In one incident, Smith's management allegedly lost Joseph's bag, which contained his hotel room key. Joseph claims he discovered someone had entered his Las Vegas hotel room with no signs of forced entry. The evidence “a violent sexual threat” would have included a handwritten note stating: “Brian, I’ll be back…just the two of us.”with a heart drawn and signed “Stone F.”
The musician also found “wipes, a bottle of beer, a red backpack, a bottle of HIV medication in the name of another individual, an earring and hospital discharge documents belonging to an unknown person” of Joseph. The latter claims that he “feared that an unknown individual would soon return to his room to engage in sexual acts”.
Joseph reported the incident to hotel security and Smith's representatives, as well as the police non-emergency line. The suit alleges that a few days later, a member of Smith's management team “humiliated” for the incident and told him he was fired while suggesting Joseph made the whole thing up. Joseph says he subsequently suffered from “post-traumatic stress and other mental illnesses following dismissal”.
THE “Circumstances of the hotel intrusion all point to a pattern of predatory behavior rather than an isolated incident”the complaint states. She adds that Joseph suffered “severe emotional distress, economic loss, reputational harm and other damages” following the alleged incident and termination.
Will Smith's defense
Smith released his most recent album, Based on a True Storyin March. Smith performed in Las Vegas on March 20, 2025 at the House of Blues Las Vegas and at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles a few days later. His tour officially kicked off in June in Rabat, Morocco.
