2026 hasn’t begun well for Will Smith!
On New Year’s Day, January 1, 2026, PEOPLE reported that the 57-year-old American actor and rapper found himself in a shocking legal trouble as his tour violinist Brian King Joseph has sued him and his company for sexual harassment.
In a complaint filed on December 30, 2025, at the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, Brian alleged wrongful termination and retaliation against the Men in Black star and Treyball Studios Management, Inc. – a California-based entertainment management corporation.
As per the claims in the filing, Will Smith “was deliberately grooming and priming Mr. Joseph for further sexual exploitation” after inviting him on his 2025 global tour, Based on a True Story.
In March 2025, during the You Can Make It singer's tour, Brian claims someone entered his Las Vegas hotel room without breaking in.
He revealed finding a threatening note saying, “Brian, I’ll be back…just us,” along with “wipes, a beer bottle, a red backpack, a bottle of HIV medication with another individual’s name, an earring, and hospital discharge paperwork belonging to a person unbeknownst to” him.
Furthermore, Brian King Joseph claimed that he “feared that an unknown individual would soon return to his room to engage in sexual acts” with him.
After reporting the incident, Brian alleged he was humiliated and dismissed by tour management, with someone else hired for his role, causing him “severe emotional distress, economic loss, reputational harm, and other damages,” including “PTSD and other mental illness as a result of the termination.”
Brian King Joseph is suing Will Smith for retaliation, wrongful termination, intimidation and sexual harassment, and is seeking compensation for personal and financial damages.
