A judge has dismissed a sexual harassment and wrongful termination lawsuit filed against Will Smith at the start of the year.
In January, violinist Brian King Joseph filed a civil complaint against the Bad Boys actor and Treyball Studios Management at the Superior Court of California.
In the lawsuit, Joseph claimed that he was wrongfully terminated from his job as a musician on the Based on a True Story tour after reporting an incident in Las Vegas in March 2025.
He alleged that someone had left a “sexual message”, wipes, a beer bottle, HIV medication with someone else’s name on it, and hospital discharge paperwork in his hotel room one day. He allegedly felt like he was being primed for sexual activity.
But in a court order obtained by Billboard this week, Judge Michael Shultz dismissed the case, declaring that the note didn’t meet the requirements of sexual misconduct in the workplace.
“The allegations do not support a severe and pervasive concerted pattern of harassment sufficient to create an abusive working environment,” he wrote, according to the outlet.
The judge also ruled that Joseph didn’t prove that he was dismissed as a result of reporting “something improper in the workplace”.
The former America’s Got Talent contestant’s lawyers have not yet commented on the decision.
Previously, representatives acting for Smith, 57, and his production company denied allegations in the lawsuit.
“Mr. Joseph’s allegations concerning my client are false, baseless, and reckless,” lawyer Allen B. Grodsky stated. “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.”
