Will Smith sued by violinist over alleged sexual harassment and retaliation
The Hollywood actor has been accused of alleged “predatory behaviour” by a musician who joined him on his 2025 global tour.
Hollywood actor Will Smith has been sued by a tour violinist over alleged sexual harassment, wrongful termination and retaliation.
Musician Brian King Joseph filed the complaint at the Superior Court of California on Tuesday (US time). In it, he accused Smith of alleged “predatory behaviour” and of “deliberately grooming and priming [him] for further sexual exploitation”. He claimed the incidents occurred last year while he was working on Smith’s Based on a True Story 2025 tour in support of the rapper’s latest album.
Will Smith has been accused by a professional violinist of allegedly “grooming and priming” him for further sexual exploitation.Credit: Getty Images
The suit also named Treyball Studios Management, the studio behind the tour, as a defendant.
In response to the claims against Smith, his attorney Allen B Grodsky said all allegations concerning his client are “false, baseless and reckless”. “They are categorically denied, and we will use all legal means available to address these claims and to ensure that the truth is brought to light,” he said.
Joseph alleged that about November 2024, Smith invited him to join a coming performance in San Diego, after which he was invited to play on his new album and join the star as part of his global tour. The pair allegedly grew closer over that time, and Joseph alleges that Smith told him, “you and I have such a special connection that I don’t have with anyone else”.
Joseph joined the tour in March 2025, beginning in Las Vegas where all band and crew members were put up in a hotel. While there, Joseph – who was a top-three finalist in America’s Got Talent in 2018 – said his bag, which contained his room key, allegedly went missing for two hours before it was found and returned to him by management.
“No other individuals besides the crew and hotel staff would have had access to [Joseph’s] personal room,” the suit stated.
The suit claimed that later that evening Joseph returned to his hotel room to discover a number of items not belonging to him, evidence that allegedly suggested “an unknown person had unlawfully entered the room”.
It is not suggested that Smith was responsible for the bag’s disappearance or that he had entered Joseph’s room.