A violinist accused Will Smith of retaliation after he said he was fired for reporting sexual harassment while on tour with the actor and rapper, according to a lawsuit filed earlier this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The suit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, is linked to what the complaint describes as a \u201chotel intrusion\u201d in Las Vegas last March that the suit says Brian King Joseph immediately reported to hotel security, police and the artist\u2019s representatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Days later, according to the complaint, a representative for Smith accused Joseph of lying and fired him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A management company associated with Smith, 57, is also named as a defendant in the suit. The complaint does not specify damages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Representatives for Smith declined to comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the suit, Joseph began performing with Smith in December 2024 and joined the artist\u2019s tour for his most recent album, \u201cBased on a True Story,\u201d last year. They began spending time alone together, the complaint states, and Smith allegedly told Joseph that they had a \u201cspecial connection\u201d that the artist had with no one else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On or around March 20, while in Las Vegas for a performance, Joseph said he returned to his hotel room around 11 p.m. to find that someone appeared to have unlawfully entered while he was gone, the complaint states. According to hotel security, there were no signs of forced entry and only people who were part of Smith\u2019s management team had access to the room while he was gone, the suit says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Among the items Joseph said he found were wipes, a beer bottle, an earring, a red backpack, HIV medication with another person\u2019s name, hospital discharge paperwork for someone Joseph didn\u2019t know and a note that said: \u201cBrian, I\u2019ll be back no later [sic] 5:30, just us (drawn heart), Stone F,\u201d the complaint states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPlaintiff feared that an unknown individual would soon return to his room to engage in sexual acts with Plaintiff,\u201d the complaint states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After Joseph reported the apparent intrusion to hotel security, Smith\u2019s representatives and police, the complaint alleges, a representative for Smith blamed him for the incident and said he was being terminated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The suit quotes the representative allegedly saying, in part, \u201cEveryone is telling me that what happened to you is a lie, nothing happened, and you made the whole thing up. So, tell me, why did you lie and make this up?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There was no effort to verify Joseph\u2019s safety concerns, the suit alleges, and after he was fired, another violinist was hired, even though the complaint says Joseph was told the tour was \u201cmoving in a different direction.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n