Jada Pinkett Smith has filed a motion in a California court seeking the complete dismissal of a $3 million lawsuit brought against her by Bilaal Salaam in December 2025. Salaam alleges that the actress threatened him at a hotel.
The motion, obtained by People on February 16, argues that Salaam’s complaint should be struck in its entirety because it violates California’s anti-SLAPP statute. This state law, the Anti-SLAPP (strategic lawsuit against public participation) Act, is designed “for weeding out, at an early stage, meritless claims arising from protected activity,” as stated in the motion.
The 54-year-old actress’s dismissal request is based on public comments she made after Salaam’s appearance on the Unwine With Tasha K podcast. During the podcast, Salaam alleged that he witnessed her husband, Will Smith, engaged in a sexual act with actor Duane Martin.
“Plaintiff voluntarily gave media interviews claiming—without evidence—that he personally witnessed her husband, actor Will Smith, engaging in sexual acts,” the motion to dismiss reads. “Plaintiff’s allegations were false, uncorroborated, and made to generate attention as part of an ongoing public campaign of harassment directed at Defendant and her family.”
The lawsuit, filed in December 2025, alleges that Pinkett Smith threatened Salaam (aka Brother Bilaal) in September 2021 in the lobby of the Regency Calabasas Commons, stating that he would “end up missing or catch a bullet.”
She had previously dismissed Salaam’s claims as “nonsense” in an interview she gave to The Breakfast Club following his allegations.
The motion to dismiss also references Pinkett Smith’s comment to TMZ following her appearance on The Breakfast Club, where she responded to Salaam’s claims about her husband by saying, “we’re suin’.”
The motion further claims that Salaam made public the contents of a cease and desist letter he had received from the Smiths. The letter, however, was “classic pre-litigation activity—confidential legal correspondence sent by counsel in anticipation of litigation—and is independently protected under California law,” not a public statement, according to the motion.
Salaam’s initial complaint alleges that he was contacted by Martin. According to Salaam, Martin told him that Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith urgently needed “crisis management” help following the controversy and fallout from Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Academy Awards.
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According to Salaam, he was directed to undertake tasks he considered to be “illegal, unethical, or morally compromising.” Furthermore, he alleges that he was threatened with “serious problems” should he decline these assignments.
Salaam alleges he was the victim of a “retaliatory campaign.” He claims that threats from individuals associated with Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith intensified after it was discovered he was writing a “whistleblower memoir” detailing his experiences with the couple.
Pinkett Smith’s legal team is arguing that the claim should be thrown out before trial, asserting it is illegitimate and part of a pattern of harassment targeting her family, according to Rolling Out.
The court is expected to rule on whether the motion for dismissal meets the requirements of the anti-SLAPP statute. The case continues to draw significant attention in entertainment and social media, highlighting the ongoing conflict between celebrity privacy and public discourse.
