Will Smith scores legal win as sexual harassment lawsuit from violinist thrown out of court

A lawsuit from violinist Brian King Joseph accusing actor Will Smith of sexual harassment, and wrongful termination from a 2025 tour, was thrown out of court in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

Joseph, 32, failed to prove 'conduct that is sufficiently severe or pervasive' in his complaint against Smith, 57, and his company Treyball Studios Management, LA Superior Court Judge Michael Shultz said in his ruling reviewed by the Daily Mail.

Joseph rose to prominence as a top-three finalist on America's Got Talent in 2018, and was hired for Smith's Based on a True Story tour in 2024 after playing for him at his home, according to previous court filings reviewed by the Daily Mail.

Judge Shultz wrote that Joseph did not present a clear argument that Smith sought 'to alter the conditions of employment and create an abusive working environment' after he voiced his concerns over a situation.

The Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for Smith and Joseph for further comment on the story. 

Joseph claimed that during a March 2025 tour stop in Las Vegas that he found his hotel room had been 'unlawfully entered' by an 'unknown person' who left a suggestive note.

The handwritten note read, 'Brian, I'll be back no later [sic] 5:30 juts us,' with a heart and the sign-off: 'Stone F.'  

The plaintiff alleged the note was accompanied by 'wipes, a beer bottle, a red backpack, a bottle of HIV medication with another individual’s name, an earring, and hospital discharge paperwork belonging to a person unbeknownst to' him.

According to Joseph, he was scared someone would 'return to his room to engage in sexual acts' with him, so he reported the incident to hotel security, a non-emergency police line and Smith's management team.

Joseph claimed he was then 'shamed' by tour management, fired from the concerts and replaced, leading to 'severe emotional distress, economic loss, reputational harm, and other damages' as well as 'PTSD and other mental illness.'

He added in his lawsuit that the 'facts suggest' Smith was 'deliberately grooming and priming Mr. Joseph for further sexual exploitation.'

Judge Shultz said in tossing the case that 'the alleged facts show one incident that did not alter the conditions of [Joseph's] employment.'

Joseph 'reported the incident and requested a room change,' the judge said, adding that his 'only concern was for his safety, and he was able to travel back to Los Angeles the next day.'

His 'allegations do not support a "severe and pervasive" concerted pattern of harassment sufficient to create an abusive working environment,' said the judge.

The judge noted that Joseph and his lawyers have a 30-day timeframe to make the necessary changes cited in the ruling before the case is fully terminated. 

Smith's attorney Allen B. Grodsky earlier denied the allegations in a statement to Daily Mail, dubbing them 'false, baseless, and reckless. 

'They are categorically denied, and we will use all legal means available to address these claims and to ensure that the truth is brought to light.' 

Joseph said that in November 2024, he was invited to Smith's home to play for him, and that during this meeting he was enlisted to play at Smith's concert that December in San Diego, as well as on the subsequent Based on a True Story: 2025 tour.

Over the course of their working relationship - which included Joseph performing on Smith's latest album Based on a True Story - the two men allegedly became close and spent 'additional alone time' with one another.

Smith is said to have told Joseph at one stage: 'You and I have such a special connection, that I don't share with anyone else.'

According to Joseph's version of events, matters took a turn on March 20, when the first leg of the tour was in progress in Las Vegas.

The band and crew had hotel accommodations booked for them and received their room numbers and confirmation codes on a spreadsheet, such that nobody but 'crew and hotel staff would have had access to Plaintiff's hotel room,' the suit insists.

Joseph said in his filing he returned to his hotel room around 11 p.m. on March 20, 2025 and discovered it had been 'unlawfully entered' by an 'unknown person' - though hotel security did not detect any signs of 'forced entry.'

Joseph's court documents say he at that point 'feared that an unknown individual would soon return to his room to engage in sexual acts with Plaintiff.'

He instantly told hotel security and Smith's representatives and took photos of what he had seen, as well as requesting a room change and reporting the alleged incident to a non-emergency police line, he claimed.

Joseph added further that he 'made clear that his only concern was safety and that he did not wish to receive any special treatment or compensation.'

Days later, according to his lawsuit, a member of tour management 'shamed' him, to the point of 'blaming Plaintiff for the incident that transpired on March 20, 2025.'

Per his court documents, that same member of tour management said to Joseph that 'everyone is telling me that what happened to you is a lie, nothing happened, and you made the whole thing up. So, tell me, why did you lie and make this up?'

Joseph insists he was fired in retaliation for reporting the alleged hotel incident - the culmination of an imbroglio that, according to the plaintiff, caused him 'severe emotional distress, economic loss, reputational harm, and other damages.'

According to his court filing, the 'stress' of getting fired precipitated a health decline that led to 'major physiological damage,' on top of which he 'suffered from PTSD and other mental illness as a result of the termination.'