Jada Pinkett Smith asks court to dismiss 'meritless' $3 million lawsuit
Jada Pinkett Smith has filed a motion to dismiss a $3 million lawsuit filed by husband Will's former friend Bilaal Salaam.
Jada Pinkett Smith has asked a court to dismiss a $3 million lawsuit filed by her husband Will's former friend.
The 54-year-old star has accused musician Bilaal Salaam - who is suing the Gotham actress for intentional infliction of emotional distress - of making "false" and "uncorroborated" statements.
In court documents obtained by the Daily Mail newspaper, she alleged that he has hoped "to generate attention as part of an ongoing public campaign of harassment directed at" her family.
She alleged that the remarks he cited in his lawsuit against her were "constitutionally protected" and she had the right to make them "on a matter of intense public interest about her family".
As reported by PEOPLE magazine, in the motion Jada wants the complaint struck in its entirety, as she alleged it's in conflict with California's anti-SLAPP (strategic lawsuit against public participation) Act.
She claimed that the statute "provides a procedure for weeding out, at an early stage, meritless claims arising from protected activity".
The dispute revolves around Salaam's claims on the Unwine With Tasha K podcast that he walked in on Will Smith and actor Duane Martin engaged in a sexual act.
Jada later dismissed the claims as "nonsense" in a conversation with The Breakfast Club.
Her motion to dismiss reads: "Plaintiff voluntarily gave media interviews claiming – without evidence – that he personally witnessed her husband, actor Will Smith, engaging in sexual acts.
"Plaintiff’s allegations were false, uncorroborated, and made to generate attention as part of an ongoing public campaign of harassment directed at Defendant and her family."
Salaam is also known as Brother Bilaal and has described himself as a "best friend" of Will Smith "for nearly 40 years".
He filed his $3m lawsuit in December 2025 and claimed that in September 2021, Jada confronted him in the Regency Calabasas Commons lobby and threatened him over his comments, alleging that she told him he would "end up missing or catch a bullet".
According to Jada's motion, it's alleged that Salaam publicly disclosed contents of a cease and desist letter from the family.
The motion argues: "That letter was not a public statement at all.
"It was classic pre-litigation activity – confidential legal correspondence sent by counsel in anticipation of litigation – and is independently protected under California law."
According to PEOPLE in December 2025, Salaam also claimed that towards the end of March 2022, he refused a request from a mutual friend calling on him to help with "crisis management" after Will struck Chris Rock over a joke about Jada's shaved hair.
The filing continues that he "refused to perform tasks he believed were illegal, unethical, or morally compromising", insisting that "his conscience would not allow him to be involved in any cover-up or deceptive PR campaign".
Salaam is set to write a "whistleblower memoir" about his experiences around the pair, and he claimed he has faced further threats as a result.
He is said to be suing Jada for intentional infliction of emotional distress.
He has alleged that he suffered financial loss, emotional drama, physical health issues and reputational harm, as well as a "complete derailment of his personal life and career".
