Will Smith has asked a judge to toss out the sexual harassment lawsuit brought against him by violinist Brian King Joseph.
Per TMZ, Smith is calling Joseph’s sexual harassment lawsuit a “money grab” and says Joseph’s claims don’t line up.
Joseph claimed while on tour with Smith, he returned to his hotel room at 11pm and found a handwritten note that read: ‘Brian, I’ll be back no later [sic] 5:30 just us,’ with a heart and the sign-off: ‘Stone F.’ The unknown person “unlawfully entered.”
He also said that he found “wipes, a beer bottle, a red backpack, a bottle of HIV medication with another individual’s name, an earring, and hospital discharge paperwork belonging to a person unbeknownst to Plaintiff.”
In a motion to strike the case, Smith’s attorneys argue that Joseph himself admits he doesn’t actually know who “Stone F” is… yet still decided to file suit against Smith and his company, Treyball Studios.
Additionally, Smith’s legal counsel asserts that Joseph was hired only on a per-show show basis and not promised a position in the band. They add that Smith and Joseph were never alone together, countering Joseph’s original claims of grooming.
Smith’s team is hoping the judge grant’s their motion to strike. They’re prepared to bring in witnesses who will testify that Joseph wasn’t asked to continue because he “behaved erratically, was difficult to work with, and made the other members of Mr. Smith’s band feel uncomfortable.
Smith’s teams has called the lawsuit “frivolous” and an “attempted money grab.”