A judge is mulling a violinist’s lawsuit against Will Smith in which the plaintiff alleges that the rapper/actor groomed him for sexual exploitation after inviting the musician to join his global tour, “Based on a True Story: 2025.”
Brian King Joseph competed on “America’s Got Talent” in 2018. On Tuesday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Shultz heard arguments on a motion by attorneys for the 57-year-old Smith and his company, Treyball Studio Management Inc., to toss all claims against each, calling the lawsuit a “money grab” and denying Joseph’s claim that he was invited to join Smith’s tour.
The judge did not rule and instead took the case under submission.
According to Joseph’s suit filed Dec. 30 alleging wrongful termination, retaliation, sexual harassment and civil rights violations, he is a professional violinist who was hired to perform on Smith’s global tour at Smith’s personal invitation after hearing him play at his home.
“You and I have such a special connection that I don’t have with anyone else” Smith told Joseph while progressively expanding the plaintiff’s role in the show, the suit states.
But in March 2025, Joseph returned to his hotel room and found a handwritten note addressed to him by name that read, “Brian, I’ll be back no later 5:30, just us,” with a drawn heart along with HIV medication, hospital discharge paperwork, wipes and other personal items, leading Joseph to fear someone was coming to have sex with him, according to the suit.
Joseph reported what he found to the police, hotel security and Smith’s management team, that latter of which had access to his hotel room, the suit states.
“He asked only for safety, not special treatment,” the suit states.
But within four days, a Smith representative confronted Joseph and asked, “Why did you lie and make this up?,” and terminated the plaintiff, who was replaced by another violinist, the suit states.
But in their court papers urging dismissal of the case and the striking of the request for punitive damages, attorneys for Smith and Treyball contend that the lawsuit contains “false and salacious allegations (that) undoubtedly make for tabloid fodder but, like most tabloid stories, they are untrue, inflammatory, legally baseless and are nothing but an attempted money grab.”
Joseph was never invited to join Smith’s tour, he was hired only on a per-show basis and “any assumptions he made to the contrary were a figment of plaintiff’s imagination and illustrate his lack of experience in the industry,” the defense attorneys further contend in their court papers.
Joseph “squandered” his chances to be part of the tour by arriving late to rehearsals and frequently disappearing mid-rehearsal, according to the Smith/Treyball attorneys’ pleadings.
Ultimately, Joseph was determined to not be a good fit for the band and the plaintiff does not indicate in his complaint that he believes Smith made the decision to terminate him, the defense lawyers further state in their court papers while adding there is no evidence of malice, oppression or fraud on the part of the defendants that would justify Joseph’s request for punitive damages.