Jada Pinkett Smith is facing a $3 million lawsuit from Will Smith’s longtime partner Bilal Salam. Bilal Salam claims Jada Pinkett Smith threatened him at a private birthday event and later tried to sabotage his life and career.
The indictment, filed in California, accuses Pinkett Smith of confronting Salaam at a movie theater in September 2021 during her husband’s birthday celebration. She arrived with about seven people and allegedly delivered a chilling ultimatum, according to the documents.
“Jada Pinkett Smith approached Plaintiff in the lobby with an entourage of approximately seven people, became verbally aggressive, and threatened Plaintiff that if he continued to ‘tell her personal things,’ he would ‘eventually disappear or be shot,’ and demanded that he sign a nondisclosure agreement (NDA) ‘or else,'” the lawsuit says, according to Page Six.
Salaam, who claims to have been close to Will Smith for nearly four decades, said the confrontation didn’t end there. One of Pinkett Smith’s associates allegedly followed him to his car while continuing to make verbal threats.
The legal documents also detail what Salaam said was a retaliatory campaign. He said Pinkett Smith and her team turned against him after the infamous Oscars incident in March 2022, when Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock on live television and then refused to assist with crisis management.
“Plaintiff refused to perform a mission that he considered illegal, unethical, or morally compromising and stated that his conscience would not allow him to engage in any cover-up or deceptive public relations activity,” the lawsuit continues.
Salam further claimed that the threats escalated after he began writing a “whistleblower memoir” and gave a 2023 interview that included personal accounts of Will Smith’s private life. Pinkett Smith publicly told TMZ that she would take legal action against Salam over the content of the interview.
However, the lawsuit states, “Defendants never filed suit. The statement was false, reckless, and maliciously manipulated public opinion and damaged Plaintiff’s character.”
Salaam’s legal team said he suffered significant harm, including financial loss, emotional distress and damage to his health, reputation and livelihood. He is seeking $3 million in damages.
