Actor and rapper Will Smith is facing a lawsuit from a violinist who claims he was fired after reporting a sexual assault incident during Smith’s Based on a True Story 2025 tour, USA Today reported on January 1.
Brian King Joseph has sued Smith and his company, Treyball Studios Management, alleging wrongful termination, retaliation, intimidation and sexual harassment, according to a civil complaint filed on December 31 in a Los Angeles court, as cited by the news outlet.
Las Vegas hotel room incident
According to the lawsuit, Joseph said the incident occurred in March while the tour was in Las Vegas. He claims he returned to his hotel room — booked by Smith’s company — to find signs that someone had entered without his consent.
The complaint alleges the room contained a sexually suggestive note, wipes, a beer bottle, HIV medication bearing another person’s name, and hospital discharge paperwork belonging to someone else. The note allegedly read: “Brian, I’ll be back no later [sic] 5:30, just us,” with a drawn heart, and was signed “Stone F.”
Joseph said he reported the matter to hotel security and tour management, according to the news outlet.
Firing after complaint
The violinist alleges that instead of investigating, tour management accused him of lying and blamed him for the incident. He claims he was fired days later.
Claims of grooming and predatory behaviour
The lawsuit also alleges that Smith had been “grooming and priming” Joseph for “further sexual exploitation” since they met in November 2024. The complaint claims the two began spending more time alone in the months leading up to the tour.
Joseph alleges Smith once told him as per the report: “You and I have such a special connection, that I don’t have with anyone else.”
He also claims tour management at one point lost his bag — which contained his hotel room key — under suspicious circumstances.
Legal claims and damages sought
“The sequence of events” and the “circumstances of the hotel intrusion all point to a pattern of predatory behavior rather than an isolated incident,” Joseph alleges in the lawsuit, as quoted by USA Today.
Joseph is seeking compensation for personal and financial damages. He claims he made significant financial investments in preparation for the tour, which ran from July to early September, and says he now suffers from major psychological damage and PTSD as a result of the alleged incident and his firing.
Smith and Treyball Studios Management have not publicly responded to the lawsuit, according to USA Today.
