Jada Pinkett Smith is facing a $3 million lawsuit from Bilaal Salaam, a longtime associate of Will Smith, who claims she threatened him at a private birthday event and later tried to sabotage his life and career.
The complaint, filed in California, accuses Pinkett Smith of confronting Salaam at a movie theater in September 2021 during her husband’s birthday celebration. According to the filing, she arrived with a group of about seven people and allegedly issued a chilling ultimatum.
“While in the lobby, Jada Pinkett Smith approached Plaintiff with approximately seven members of her entourage, became verbally aggressive, and threatened Plaintiff by stating that if he continued ‘telling her personal business,’ he would ‘end up missing or catch a bullet,’ and demanded he sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) ‘or else,’” the lawsuit states, as reported by Page Six.
Salaam, who claims to have been close to Will Smith for nearly four decades, says the confrontation didn’t end there. One of Pinkett Smith’s associates allegedly followed him to his car while continuing to issue verbal threats.
The legal filing also details what Salaam describes as a campaign of retaliation. He says Pinkett Smith and her team turned against him after he declined to assist with crisis management following the infamous Oscars incident in March 2022, when Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock on live television.
“Plaintiff refused to perform tasks he believed were illegal, unethical, or morally compromising, stating his conscience would not allow him to be involved in any cover-up or deceptive PR campaign,” the lawsuit continues.
Salaam further claims that after he began working on a “whistleblower memoir” and gave a 2023 interview that included personal claims about Will Smith’s private life, the threats escalated. Pinkett Smith publicly told TMZ she would take legal action against Salaam over the interview’s content.
However, the lawsuit alleges, “Defendant never filed a lawsuit. The statement was false, reckless, and made with malicious intent to manipulate public opinion and damage Plaintiff’s character.”
Salaam’s legal team says he has suffered significant harm, including financial loss, emotional distress and damage to his health, reputation and livelihood. He is seeking $3 million in damages.