Will Smith pulled toward Jada Pinkett Smith court fight by ex-pal
Bilaal Salaam wants to question Will Smith under oath in his $3 million lawsuit against Jada Pinkett Smith, according to TMZ.
By Poppy Nakagawa · Culture Writer
2 min read
Will Smith is now being eyed for a deposition in the legal fight between Jada Pinkett Smith and his former friend Bilaal Salaam, according to court documents obtained by TMZ.
Salaam, who is suing Jada for $3 million, has asked to depose Will as part of the case, TMZ reports. Jada’s side is pushing back, saying Will is not part of the lawsuit and has not been served with a subpoena.
The request surfaced in an email Salaam sent to Jada’s lawyer on July 7, according to TMZ’s account of the legal filings. Jada’s legal team responded that there was “nothing to meet and confer about” regarding a proposed deposition of Will Smith.
That email was attached to a motion from Jada’s side seeking to force Salaam to hand over more evidence in the case, TMZ reports.
Jada wants more records
According to the filing described by TMZ, Jada says Salaam has not produced medical records tied to his claim of emotional distress. Her team is asking the court to compel him to provide additional evidence.
Salaam’s lawsuit accuses Jada of having people threaten him, according to TMZ. He claims the alleged threats came after he refused to help contain the public fallout from Will Smith’s Oscars slap, and after Jada learned he was working on a memoir that mentioned the Smith family.
Jada has denied wrongdoing, TMZ reports. She has also rejected the allegation that she threatened Salaam.
The case has already been trimmed down in court. According to TMZ, a judge dismissed some of Salaam’s claims and ordered him to pay Jada more than $30,000 in legal fees. The rest of the lawsuit is still active.
Will is not a defendant
The latest turn does not make Will a party to the litigation. Jada’s team pointed that out in its response to Salaam’s deposition request, according to TMZ.
For now, Salaam appears to be trying to bring Will into the discovery phase, where parties gather evidence before trial. Jada’s side is resisting that move unless there is a proper legal basis, TMZ reports.
The lawsuit sits at the intersection of a very public Hollywood marriage, a former friendship and lingering fallout from the 2022 Academy Awards, where Will slapped Chris Rock onstage after a joke about Jada.
TMZ reports that Salaam’s claims remain allegations. Jada denies them, and the court has already thrown out part of the case while allowing other parts to continue.
This story draws on original reporting from TMZ.