Will Smith could be drawn into the legal battle between his former friend Bilaal Salaam and Jada Pinkett Smith.
Salaam filed a motion on Tuesday, Aug. 18, to add "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air" alum, 57, as a co-defendant in his $3 million emotional distress case against Pinkett Smith, according to documents obtained by USA TODAY.
Salaam first sued the former "Red Table Talk" host, 54, in November, accusing her of threatening him on multiple occasions. Now, he alleges Smith was a direct participant in making several of those threats.
The couple must file a response to the request within 30 days of service, a Los Angeles judge ordered Aug. 19.
USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for Smith and Pinkett Smith for comment.
Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith allegedly threatened Bilaal Salaam for several years
In the proposed amendment,
Salaam alleged Pinkett Smith said she would have him "killed if he continued to discuss her personal business or publish his memoir" during an Oct. 5, 2021 phone call. Smith, who was with his wife, then allegedly told Salaam, "'you heard what my wife said,' thereby personally affirming and adopting Defendant Pinkett Smith's threat as his own."
The call was allegedly connected to an incident the month prior at Smith's birthday party, where Salaam said Pinkett Smith and "seven members of her entourage" told him he would "end up missing or catch a bullet" if he continued to talk about her "personal business."
Another alleged incident took place in 2022 when Salaam said he was asked to help with "crisis management" after Smith slapped Chris Rock onstage at the Oscars over a joke the comedian made about Pinkett Smith. When Salaam refused, he said he was contacted by associates of Smith, with one allegedly threatening to "physically harm" Salaam.
The individual "had a longstanding paid professional relationship" with the Academy Award winner, and Salaam alleged the threat "was part of the coordinated campaign of private intimidation," per the latest filing, which called the conduct "extreme and outrageous."
Salaam said the couple continued to launch a "retaliatory campaign" against him as he wrote a memoir about his experiences with them and spoke out in a public interview in November 2023.
Pinkett Smith pushed back on Salaam's claims in subsequent interviews, accusing him of attempting to extort her and her husband in a "money shakedown" and declared her intentions to sue him.
Among the other alleged threats made "on behalf of Will and Jada" was what Salaam described as a "payment-for-retraction scheme," in which he said he was offered money to publicly share a "pre-scripted written statement" saying he had lied about the couple.
When he refused, Salaam alleged the couple's longtime associate Charles Alston, also named as a co-defendant, called and told him "to remain outside the United States, not publish his memoir, and not give further interviews." Salaam said Alston told him "there would be physical consequences if he did not comply."
"Defendant Pinkett Smith and Defendant Smith each acted with intent to cause, or with reckless disregard of the probability of causing, severe emotional distress to" Salaam, the motion read. He is seeking $3 million in damages, costs of the suit and a jury trial.
This latest filing came one month after Salaam requested that Smith testify in a deposition, USA TODAY previously reported. Pinkett Smith's attorney, Courtney L. Puritsky, pushed back in response, writing, "there is nothing to meet and confer about. Mr. Smith is not a party to this litigation."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Will Smith accused of backing Jada's alleged threat to have friend 'killed' in lawsuit
