Will Smith is facing a civil lawsuit in California from electric violinist Brian King Joseph, who worked on Smith’s 2025 Based on a True Story tour and now alleges sexual harassment, retaliation, and wrongful termination. A USA Today overview, “Will Smith sued by tour violinist for sexual harassment, retaliation,” reports that Joseph is seeking damages for emotional distress, reputational harm, and lost income tied to being removed from the tour.
According to the complaint filed in Los Angeles County, Joseph joined Smith’s live band after performing with him in late 2024 and was let go in March 2025, shortly after reporting a disturbing incident in his Las Vegas hotel room. He says he returned to find no sign of forced entry but a handwritten note addressing him (“Brian, I’ll be back… just us”) alongside a beer bottle, wipes, a backpack, hospital discharge papers, and a bottle of HIV medication in someone else’s name, which he characterizes as a “sexual threat of violence.”
Joseph alleges he reported the incident to hotel staff, a local non‑emergency police line, and Smith’s tour management, and that management later accused him of fabricating it and told him the tour was “moving in a different direction.” A CNN explainer, “Violinist sues Will Smith for sexual harassment, wrongful termination,” outlines his claim that another violinist was hired in his place and that this sequence of events amounts to retaliation for speaking up about what he experienced.
The lawsuit asserts claims including sexual harassment, failure to prevent harassment, retaliation, and wrongful termination, and uses language about Smith “deliberately grooming and priming” Joseph for potential exploitation, though it does not allege a specific sexual act by Smith. Smith’s attorney has publicly called the accusations “false, baseless and reckless” and said they are categorically denied, with outlets such as the Los Angeles Times and NBC News stressing that these remain unproven allegations unless and until a court rules on the evidence.
