Sources say Will Smith & Jada Pinkett-Smith are furious about Bilaal Salaam’s $3 million lawsuit that claimed the actress threatened the former friend’s life after his allegations that Will had sex with Duane Martin.
As BOSSIP previously reported, Salaam (aka Brother Bilaal) filed a complaint on Dec. 1, alleging that the Girls Trip star pulled up to the Regency Calabasas Commons in September 2021 to intimidate him. The lawsuit claims that she had about seven people as backup when she warned “that if he continued ‘telling her personal business,’” he would “‘end up missing or catch a bullet.’”
The power couple has stayed mostly quiet on the frenemy fallout since 2023. Jada went viral with the “We suing!” reaction to the salacious sex story about Will. Around the same time, she spoke to The Breakfast Club about the “ridiculous” rumors, which she dismissed as a “shakedown.”
“And this a person that tried a money shakedown that didn’t work. We’re going to take legal action because it’s one thing to have your opinion about somebody versus just making up salacious, malicious stories. That’s actionable so we gonna roll with that,” she said.
It seems that two years later, the defensive diva is keeping that same energy in light of the new lawsuit. Insiders close to the couple told PEOPLE, “They are really mad and say it’s a lot of crap.” They added that Brother Bilaal is “an opportunistic person out to exploit them.”
Brother Bilaal alleged that Jada tried to force him to sign a nondisclosure agreement “or else.” The filing states she followed him to his car as he tried to leave, “while continuing to issue verbal threats.” He claimed that the tactics escalated into a “retaliatory campaign” from the Matrix franchise star and her associates after his shocking interview with Tasha K.
Will’s childhood friend appeared on Unwine With Tasha K to claim that he walked in on the Oscar winner having sex with fellow actor Duane Martin in 2023. Now, Brother Bilaal is suing for $3 million because he claims Jada’s reaction inflicted emotional distress.
Despite Jada’s 2023 admission of a seven-year separation, she has been married to Will for 28 years. They confirmed no plans to divorce and appear to remain a united front and family amid this new legal battle.
However, it’s unclear what caused the rift between the King Richard star and his lifelong friend.
“Bilaal has been close to Will for many years but sometime along the way became a blabbermouth which has upset both Will and Jada,” another anonymous insider revealed. “Like any other high-profile people, they don’t want to hear about their lives in the public arena. Especially in a controversial way.”
The source echoed Jada’s shakedown claims about the lawsuit, saying it “was tailored to produce some money to make it go away.”
