Violinist Brian King Joseph Sues Will Smith for Predatory Behaviour and Retaliation on 2025 Tour
Violinist Brian King Joseph, who toured with Will Smith in 2025, has filed a lawsuit against Smith and Treyball Studios Management in California Superior Court accusing Smith of predatory behaviour, grooming, and wrongful termination or retaliation.
The suit alleges that Smith groomed Joseph for sexual exploitation and that they shared a special connection not extended to others on the tour. During a March 2025 tour date in Las Vegas, Joseph claims his bag and hotel room key disappeared and his room was unlawfully accessed. Among the items found were wipes and HIV medication registered to another name, along with a note implying a forthcoming private encounter referencing someone named Stone F.
Joseph states that management had exclusive access to his room, and after reporting the incident to hotel security and a non-emergency police line, he was terminated, which he believes was linked to the alleged incident. He is seeking damages for post-traumatic stress disorder and economic loss resulting from his termination.
Will Smith’s attorney, Allen B Grodsky, denied the allegations, calling them false, baseless, and reckless, and stated they would use all legal means to contest the claims.
This lawsuit comes in the context of Smith's 2025 album release, Based on a True Story, his first in 20 years, partially addressing the 2022 Oscar incident involving Chris Rock. The album had limited commercial success, peaking at No. 79 on the UK album downloads chart for one week and received a negative review from Pitchfork with a score of 2.4 out of 10.
This report was published by The Guardian on January 2, 2026.
