{"id":669068,"date":"2026-01-02T13:45:19","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T13:45:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/669068\/"},"modified":"2026-01-02T13:45:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T13:45:19","slug":"will-smith-sued-for-sexual-harassment-by-tour-violinist-as-actor-accused-of-predatory-behaviour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/669068\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Smith sued for sexual harassment by tour violinist as actor accused of &#8216;predatory behaviour&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Will Smith is facing a civil lawsuit filed by professional violinist Brian King Joseph, who has accused the Hollywood star and his production company of sexual harassment, wrongful termination, and retaliation. <\/p>\n<p>The 32-year-old musician, who reached the final three on America&#8217;s Got Talent in 2018, lodged the complaint at the Superior Court of California in Los Angeles County on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>The legal action names both the 57-year-old Oscar winner and Treyball Studios Management as defendants.<\/p>\n<p>According to court documents, Mr Joseph alleges that Mr Smith engaged in &#8220;predatory behavior&#8221; and was &#8220;deliberately grooming and priming Mr Joseph for further sexual exploitation&#8221; during the Based on a True Story: 2025 tour, which began earlier this year.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"2c348\" data-rm-shortcode-id=\"1e21e218f270c16c6c0c47f7d17b162f\" data-rm-shortcode-name=\"rebelmouse-image\" class=\"rm-shortcode rm-lazyloadable-image \" lazy-loadable=\"true\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%202000%201422'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" data-runner-src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/will-smith.jpg\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1422\" alt=\"Will Smith\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Will Smith is being sued for sexual harassment <\/p>\n<p> | <\/p>\n<p> GETTY<\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit centres on an alleged incident that occurred on March 20, 2025, when the tour reached Las Vegas.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Joseph claims he returned to his hotel room at approximately 11pm to find evidence that someone had gained entry without any signs of forced break-in.<\/p>\n<p>Inside the room, he allegedly discovered a handwritten note reading &#8220;Brian, I&#8217;ll be back no later [sic] 5:30, just us,&#8221; accompanied by a drawn heart and signed &#8220;Stone F.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The complaint states that additional items were left behind, including wipes, a beer bottle, a red rucksack, an earring, and hospital discharge documents belonging to an unknown individual.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"2eda2\" data-rm-shortcode-id=\"f915bc5609e5c6daeceb64920d2f854d\" data-rm-shortcode-name=\"rebelmouse-image\" class=\"rm-shortcode rm-lazyloadable-image \" lazy-loadable=\"true\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%205000%203333'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" data-runner-src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1767361517_358_will-smith.jpg\" width=\"5000\" height=\"3333\" alt=\"Will Smith\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Will Smith is also a rapper as well as an actor <\/p>\n<p> | <\/p>\n<p> GETTY<\/p>\n<p>Mr Joseph claims he interpreted these discoveries as a threat that someone intended to return and engage in sexual acts with him against his will.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Joseph&#8217;s complaint alleges that the grooming began when he first met Mr Smith in November 2024, after being invited to perform at the actor&#8217;s home.<\/p>\n<p>The pair subsequently spent increasing amounts of time alone together in the months before the tour commenced.<\/p>\n<p>During this period, Mr Smith allegedly remarked to the violinist: &#8220;You and I have such a special connection, that I don&#8217;t have with anyone else.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"65e63\" data-rm-shortcode-id=\"e028c1872b6bee1484895b72334d9405\" data-rm-shortcode-name=\"rebelmouse-image\" class=\"rm-shortcode rm-lazyloadable-image \" lazy-loadable=\"true\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%202000%201333'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" data-runner-src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1767361518_935_will-smith.jpg\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" alt=\"Will Smith\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Will Smith has starred in a number of Hollywood blockbusters <\/p>\n<p> | <\/p>\n<p> GETTY<\/p>\n<p><strong\/>Following the hotel room discovery, Mr Joseph reported the matter to venue security, a non-emergency police line, and the tour&#8217;s management team.<\/p>\n<p>However, he claims a member of management subsequently accused him of fabricating the entire incident.<\/p>\n<p>According to the lawsuit, he was told: &#8220;Everyone is telling me that what happened to you is a lie, nothing happened, and you made the whole thing up.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Days later, Mr Joseph was dismissed from the tour.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"39a36\" data-rm-shortcode-id=\"1916ec6833471bd07d512cf026c49a4e\" data-rm-shortcode-name=\"rebelmouse-image\" class=\"rm-shortcode rm-lazyloadable-image \" lazy-loadable=\"true\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%205000%203506'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" data-runner-src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1767361519_950_will-smith.jpg\" width=\"5000\" height=\"3506\" alt=\"Will Smith\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Will Smith is an Oscar-winning actor <\/p>\n<p> | <\/p>\n<p>GETTY<\/p>\n<p>Management allegedly informed Mr Joseph that the tour was &#8220;moving in a different direction,&#8221; yet the lawsuit contends that another violinist was swiftly hired to fill his position, undermining this explanation.<\/p>\n<p>The complaint alleges that the ordeal has caused Mr Joseph severe emotional distress, damage to his professional reputation, and significant financial harm.<\/p>\n<p>He claims to have developed post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health conditions as a direct consequence of his dismissal.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Joseph is pursuing claims for retaliation, wrongful termination, and sexual harassment, with the quantum of damages to be decided by a jury.<\/p>\n<p>Neither Mr Smith nor his representatives have publicly addressed the allegations contained in the lawsuit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Will Smith is facing a civil lawsuit filed by professional violinist Brian King Joseph, who has accused the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":669069,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3940],"tags":[4080,4781,77,3063,512,16,15,103016],"class_list":{"0":"post-669068","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-celebrities","9":"tag-celebrity","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-film","12":"tag-sgg","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom","15":"tag-will-smith"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115825811372759095","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669068","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=669068"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669068\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/669069"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=669068"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=669068"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=669068"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}