Hollywood has a new courtroom drama brewing, and this time the spotlight is on Jada Pinkett Smith. A former associate, Bilaal Salaam, has filed a lawsuit seeking $3 million, accusing Pinkett Smith of threatening him during a 2021 encounter.
Salaam, who says he has been close with Will Smith for nearly forty years, paints a picture of trust, friendship, and behind-the-scenes access. He claims he worked with Smith on everything from personal projects to the actor's memoir. According to him, that insider knowledge is exactly what made the alleged confrontation with Jada Pinkett Smith so frightening.
What Salaam Says Happened in 2021
Salaam’s complaint describes a moment straight out of a thriller. On September 25, 2021, while attending a private birthday gathering for Smith at the Regency Calabasas Commons, he says Pinkett Smith approached him, surrounded by seven people from her entourage.
Salaam's complaint claims she "became verbally aggressive" and warned him to stop sharing her personal business. The exact phrasing, according to the complaint, was that if he continued 'telling her personal business,' " he would 'end up missing or catch a bullet.'"
Threats of that nature are obviously alarming, especially when they appear in a legal filing. Not only that, but Salaam claims she insisted he sign an NDA on the spot. He says her team then followed him to his car while continuing to issue verbal threats.
The Oscars Aftershock
Fast forward six months. The Oscars have just delivered the slap heard around the world, courtesy of Will Smith and Chris Rock. According to Salaam, a mutual friend asked him to assist with crisis management during the fallout. "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," Salaam's filing alleges.
In his lawsuit, he says he was threatened, maligned, and targeted once word got out that he was writing a whistleblower memoir about his time with the Smiths. Things escalated after he gave an interview that went viral in 2023, when he claimed he once witnessed Smith in a compromising sexual situation with actor Duane Martin. Pinkett Smith publicly dismissed those claims as ridiculous during an appearance on "The Breakfast Club."
The Back and Forth in Public
Pinkett Smith and her team didn’t stay quiet. Salaam’s lawsuit points to a statement she made on TMZ, where she said she and Smith planned to pursue legal action against him.
According to Salaam, no such legal action ever happened. "Defendant never filed a lawsuit," Salaam alleges. "The statement was false, reckless, and made with malicious intent to manipulate public opinion and damage Plaintiff's character."
The lawsuit accuses Pinkett Smith of intentionally harming his reputation, issuing threats through intermediaries, and attempting to bribe or intimidate him into silence. Salaam says the alleged campaign ruined his career, caused him emotional distress, and derailed his personal life.
What Happens Next
Lawsuits involving celebrities often unfold slowly, but this particular case arrives during a period when the Smith family has already been under intense public examination. Pinkett Smith has not responded to the new lawsuit in detail yet, and Hollywood is watching closely to see whether she addresses the filing head-on.
As for Salaam, he is seeking 3 million dollars for what he describes as "her emissaries" to "bribe, intimidate and suppress" him.