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Jada Pinkett Smith has denied that she threatened Will Smith's former friend at a birthday party five years ago.
Bilaal Salaam, who has described himself as "a best friend" of the Oscar-winning actor "for nearly 40 years", filed a lawsuit against the actress in November 2025 in which he alleged that she confronted him at the party at a California cinema in September 2021.
He claimed that The Matrix Revolutions star and members of her entourage were "verbally aggressive" and she allegedly told him he would "end up missing or catch a bullet" if he continued "telling her personal business".
Earlier this month, Pinkett Smith responded to the allegations in a motion to dismiss Salaam's $3 million (£2.2 million) lawsuit.
"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 motion reads, according to TMZ.
In addition, the 54-year-old argued that he has a "fixation" with the Smith family, and his lawsuit sought to punish her for her "constitutionally protected speech on a matter of intense public interest about her family".
In the motion, Pinkett Smith asks the court to dismiss Salaam's complaint in its entirety, insisting that it conflicts with California's anti-SLAPP statute, which "provides a procedure for weeding out, at an early stage, meritless claims arising from protected activity", according to documents obtained by People.
In his original complaint, Salaam, also known as Brother Bilaal, claimed that the Girls Trip star and her team launched "a retaliatory campaign" against him after he refused to help with crisis management after Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars in March 2022.
Salaam also alleged that he faced further threats after the Smiths learned he was writing a "whistleblower memoir" about his time with them, and after he made sensational allegations about the Men in Black star and his sex life in a 2023 interview.
He sought $3 million in damages after he allegedly suffered financial loss, reputational harm, emotional drama, physical health issues and "the complete derailment of his personal life and career".
The stars separated in 2016, but they do not intend to get a divorce.
