Professional violinist Brian King Joseph appeared to allude to the alleged harassment he claimed he suffered at the hands of Will Smith days before filing a lawsuit against the famed actor.
âEarlier this year, I was hired to be a performer on a major, major tour with somebody who was huge in the industry,â Joseph, 35, claimed in a video shared via Instagram in December 2025. âSo I was excited, you know, proud of myself for getting the opportunity. Unfortunately, some things happened.â
He continued, âI canât get too into the details of exactly what that was because itâs already a legal issue right now, but the reason why Iâm speaking out about this is because getting fired or getting blamed or shamed or threatened or anything like that simply for reporting sexual misconduct or safety threats at work is not okay.â
Joseph also spoke to others who he claimed might be âafraid to speak outâ about their own alleged experiences.
âI understand, and if thatâs you, I see you,â he said at the time. âAnd thatâs pretty much it. More updates to come soon. Thanks for listening.â
Joseph filed his lawsuit against Smith, 57, in Los Angeles on December 30, 2025. In documents obtained by Us Weekly, Joseph accuses Smith of âpredatory behaviorâ and âdeliberately grooming and priming Mr. Joseph for further sexual exploitation.â The alleged acts took place during Smithâs Based on a True Story: 2025 tour.
Joseph also claimed that he was asked to join the tour in November 2024. The tour began in Las Vegas in March 2025, and Joseph further alleged the harassment began in Sin City.
In the complaint, Joseph claimed he returned to his Las Vegas hotel room, which was booked by Smithâs company, to find someone had âunlawfullyâ entered the room.
In the room, he allegedly discovered wipes, a beer bottle, a bottle of HIV medication with another individualâs name and hospital discharge paperwork belonging to another person.
The musician also alleged there was a note in the room that read, âBrian, Iâll be back no later [sic] 5:30, just us (drawn heart), Stone F,â which he believed was a message that indicated âan unknown individual would soon return to his room to engage in sexual acts.â
Joseph claims he reported what happened to hotel security as well as tour management, further allegedly that management accused him of lying. His employment on tour was later terminated, he said, and management told him they were âmoving in a different direction.â
Via the documents, Joseph also claimed Smith was âgrooming and primingâ him âfor further sexual exploitation.â Us Weekly reached out to representatives for Smith and Joseph at the time for comment.
Based on a True Story was revealed as Smithâs first album in more than 20 years and featured previously released singles including âYou Can Make It,â âWork of Artâ and âTantrum.â
âThe idea of âBeautiful Scarsâ is just one of the things that really popped through for me as such a value to recognize that a difficulty, an adversity, a challenge, an obstacle is hard and painful in the moment but what youâre going through can turn out to be the greatest thing that has ever happened,â Smith told radio host Enrique Santos during an iHeartRadio Live event on January 29, 2025. âWhat starts out as an adversity can turn into a beautiful stepping stone.â
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