Photo: TNS
Will Smith (pic) and his company are facing allegations of sexual harassment by former America’s Got Talent contestant Brian King Joseph, who says he was subjected to “predatory behaviour” during the Oscar winner’s 2025 tour.
Joseph, a professional violinist, is also suing Smith and Treyball Studios Management for retaliation and wrongful termination and claims he’s suffered PTSD as well as economic loss, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Los Angeles and obtained Thursday by Us Weekly. He wants a jury to determine damages.
The filing claims that Joseph joined the Fresh Prince alum’s tour for his Based On A True Story album. It was during the tour that Joseph says someone “unlawfully” entered his hotel room, where he discovered a note addressed to him and signed by “Stone F.”
“Brian, I’ll be back no later [sic] 5:30, just us,” the note promised, concluding with a drawing of a heart.
Joseph believed this “unknown individual would soon return to his room to engage in sexual acts” with him, in part because he also discovered wipes, a beer bottle, a bottle of HIV medication belonging to someone else and someone else’s hospital discharge paperwork.
Joseph — who appeared on five AGT episodes between 2018 and 2019 and in 2020 competed on an episode of America’s Got Talent: The Champions — claims he was fired within days of reporting the incident to hotel security and tour management. He insists tour management would have had “access” to the room because Joseph lost his luggage, which contained the room key.
Joseph claims the Hitch star was “deliberately grooming and priming Mr. Joseph for further sexual exploitation” since their November 2024 meeting, after which they “began spending additional time alone” together ahead of the tour.
Brian King Joseph appeared on five AGT episodes between 2018 and 2019. Photo: Brian King Joseph/Instagram
Smith’s lawyer Allen B. Grodsky “categorically denied” the claims in a statement to People, dubbing them “false, baseless, and reckless.”
“We will use all legal means available to address these claims and to ensure that the truth is brought to light,” said Grodsky.
The Daily News has reached out to Grodsky and representatives for Smith.
In a Dec 26 Instagram Reel, Joseph alluded to the “legal issue” that was underway with regard to the “major, major tour” on which he’d been hired to perform earlier in the year.
“Unfortunately, some things happened,” said Joseph. “Getting shamed or blamed or anything like that simply for reporting sexual misconduct or safety threats at work is not OK. And I know that there’s a lot of other people out there who have been afraid to speak up and I understand. And, if that’s you, I see you. More updates to come soon.”
Joseph’s Jan 1 Instagram story once again signaled to the lawsuit: “The support means a lot you guys, thank you.”
The allegations come just under a month after his alleged former friend Bilal Salaam filed a US$3mil lawsuit accusing Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, of saying he’d “catch a bullet” if he kept sharing the latter’s “personal business.” – New York Daily News/Tribune News Service
