Jada Pinkett Smith is not going down without a fight as she takes swift action against Will Smith’s so-called best friend of 40 years.
Over the past few years, a series of wild claims have emerged from a man named Bilaal, “Brother Bilaal” Salaam, who alleged that the “Set It Off” star and seven individuals from her entourage threatened him in the lobby of a theater where Will’s private birthday celebration was being held.
Since that 2021 event, Salaam has made other jaw-dropping claims against the Smith family, which he included in the lawsuit he filed back in December, seeking $3 million. But Jada is saying not so fast.
Recent reports reveal that Pinkett Smith asked a California court to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that it violates the anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) statute. It passed in 1992 and allows defendants to challenge meritless lawsuits at an early stage and seek to have them dismissed.
The motion accuses Salaam of publicly disclosing the contents of a cease-and-desist letter he received from the Smiths. The motion said, “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.”
The documents also point to Salaam’s 2023 interview on “Unwine With Tasha K,” where he told the host he allegedly witnessed Will and actor Duane Martin during a compromising moment in a trailer on set.
Pinkett Smith initially laughed it off and called it nonsense on “The Breakfast Club” that same year. The motion stated, “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.”
The way she is talking and the pauses, makes me feel that she is lying, this interview doesn't help Will Smith at all.
— Avramovici (@avramv82) November 15, 2023
In his original lawsuit, Salaam claims that during their run-in at the Regency Calabasas Commons theater in September 2021, Pinkett Smith said he would “end up missing or catch a bullet” if he didn’t stop “telling her personal business.”
He even claimed Pinkett Smith demanded that he sign an NDA.
In March 2022, Salaam claimed that Martin, a close friend of the “Bad Boy” star, contacted him seeking “crisis management” after Will infamously slapped Chris Rock that same month for making a joke about Pinkett Smith’s shaved head.
Salaam said he refused because the tasks he was asked to do seemed “illegal, unethical, or morally compromising.” He believes he was threatened because he wouldn’t agree to help leading to a “retaliatory campaign” — which he claims Pinkett Smith led — against him. He said the smear campaign was heightened after they found out he was doing a “whistleblower memoir” on the family.
Many on TMZ’s page criticized Pinkett Smith for not following through on her promise to sue Salaam, a promise she made in a previous interview with the outlet. One comment read, “Sick couple. Whatever happened to suing him, Jada? You promised to sue for defamation. She can’t counter-sue because she knows he’ll reveal some things.”
A second person wrote, “No one believes you Jada. You have been a mess for years. Lying cheating [woman].”
The comment was a reference to a 2020 admission about her entanglement with R&B singer August Alsina, 33, during a time when she and Will were separated.
Another person who seemingly just isn’t a fan wrote, “Will has a free pass for alcoholism. No man could tolerate her for even five minutes a day without being sauced to the gills.”
Siding with the legendary pair who have captivated television and movie screens for decades, one person said, “Team Jada. Clown just trying to weasel money. NFway with the plethora of legal and PR power worldwide at the Smiths’ [money emoji] beck and call would they deal 1 minute with him. Bunch of crap.”
Another advised the accuser, “Get a job, Bilaal – one that does not include spilling what you call ‘tea’ to the blogs about Will and Jada.”
The Smiths have been married since 1997 and have a blended family of three kids. Will welcomed Trey with his first wife Sheree Zampino in 1992. He has Jaden, 27, and Willow, 25, with Pinkett Smith.
