Jan. 2, 2026
Trying To Make Sense of these Will Smith Sexual Harassment Headlines
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RSS Feed Sexual harassment. Grooming. Predatory behavior. A former America's Got Talent finalist is accusing Will Smith of all of that in a new lawsuit. The headlines and allegations are explosive. But the details are few and far between. They're also ... bizarre.
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00:00:02
Speaker 1: Hey, that folks. It is Friday, January second, and the headlines will tell you that Will Smith is being sued for sexual harassments, that he's being accused of deliberately grooming someone, that he is being accused of predatory behavior. But we're actually still trying to make sense of this new lawsuit that he's been hit with, and with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ Robes. The headlines do include all those words the lawsuit, and he includes all those words, but it's not that cut and dry. Is it fair to say? This is confusing and we're all trying to get our heads around it.
00:00:40
Speaker 2: Very confusing.
00:00:41
Speaker 3: Yes, if you open your phone today or your computer, you are going to see these incendiary headlines about Will Smith's pictures everywhere, and then you start reading the details and you're left with a question mark, Huh, what is what is.
00:00:57
Speaker 1: It that he did?
00:00:58
Speaker 2: What is it that he said? Who is this?
00:01:01
Speaker 1: It's very confusing, and we don't want to take away always you have to take these claims seriously, but this is now a lawsuit. We were here talking too long ago about the lawsuit that Tyler Perry got under the tree that was filed on Christmas Day. It looks like this one was filed on New Year's Eve, so this was kind of a New Year's gift Will Smith. But was there a monitor? No this one. At least there's not a monetary number attached to this one yet.
00:01:27
Speaker 3: I didn't see a monetary number yet, but there is, or at least the statements I saw.
00:01:33
Speaker 2: There is more coming.
00:01:34
Speaker 3: They're saying there's going to be additional details released at a later date, so maybe we will get a number. And it seemed as though again everything is a little fuzzy, but.
00:01:44
Speaker 2: There are more.
00:01:46
Speaker 3: They claim they have more evidence and there's more to say. But what we have to look at right now isn't a lot.
00:01:53
Speaker 1: I didn't know what to make of that either, just as to it was our tale. But we'll tell you at least what's going on, because you will see the headline that Will Smith has been sued facing a civil lawsuit here that accuses him of retaliation for wrongful termination of an employee and for sexual harassment. Now Will Smith is named along with his management companies called Trey Ball Studio Management. They are named now. The person who is assuming is not a name I was familiar with, but he at least Robes by all accounts, is an accomplished guy, a violinist who made a name for himself as well on a national show and being a fan finalist in it.
00:02:31
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's right, he was.
00:02:32
Speaker 3: I believe he'd got into the top three of America's Got Talent. He was a finalist back in twenty eighteen. I checked out his Instagram page. He's got Yes, he's a phenomenal electric violinist, I believe is what he does. But he travels and tours the world with his talents, and he was seemingly says he was very excited to be a part of Will Smith's new tour that he launched. I guess it began around March and then was supposed to go through September, a worldwide tour for.
00:03:00
Speaker 2: Some of his new music.
00:03:01
Speaker 3: It was Will Smith's comeback tour, so to speak, going back to music after everything that happened in the oscars.
00:03:07
Speaker 2: So yeah, this was all supposed to be positive and a.
00:03:11
Speaker 3: Way forward and a way through all of the stuff that he had behind him.
00:03:15
Speaker 1: So the guy says he met I think did we say the name Brian King Joseph.
00:03:19
Speaker 2: I don't know.
00:03:19
Speaker 1: Brian King Joseph is the name Brian. King Joseph is what he goes by. Now Here are the claims he said. I think I saw this story and read it right. He was hired by Will Smith to be a part of the tour. This was in November of twenty twenty four. But did you read as well he auditioned for him at his home. Now, I'm not sure that's perfectly normal, but that's just a part of the story as well.
00:03:43
Speaker 3: Yes, and yes, he has a lot of suggestions of intimate encounters and intimate just conversations. That doesn't seem like it would be a typical way to handle hiring musicians for your tour.
00:03:58
Speaker 1: And I want to be clear what we're saying when we say in mid encounters, we were talking about just somewhere in private, or they're having a moment where not nothing at least No, it's suggesting a physical relation ship, although they seem to be leaving some weird breadcrumbs about the story. Anyway way to put it, there's.
00:04:14
Speaker 2: A lot of bread crumbing going on. That's a perfect way to put it.
00:04:17
Speaker 1: Seems like it's intentional bread crumbing. And we're going to get into exactly what we're talking about here, So what was the sexual harassment? He said he was hired. He started in March of twenty twenty five. I think he was just getting started. They go to a hotel in Vegas. The whole crew is there, all the band and everybody's staying in a hotel and he said he returned to his hotel room and he could tell someone had entered the room. And this is where things start to get weird.
00:04:47
Speaker 2: Yeah, this is really strange.
00:04:48
Speaker 3: I think he said he left his bag on the tour bus where anybody in the tour could have had access to his room key.
00:04:53
Speaker 2: That's how he's claiming this may have happened.
00:04:55
Speaker 3: But when he gets to his room, he said, there were wipes, there was a beer bottle, there was HIV medication with someone else's name on it. A lot of folks say it's kind of like prep basically for a gay encounter. Another way to look at it, hospital discharge paperwork with someone else's name on it. But the big question mark is this note that he says was left in his room alongside all of these strange items that were all collected in one area.
00:05:27
Speaker 1: And the note makes no sense. But he says it has his name on it, Brian, I'll be back no later five point thirty, just us. And it says there was a little heart drawn on the note, and the note is signed stone F. Is the name stone F. Now you might be listening and you're waiting, like okay, But that is at least in his mind, Accordins's lawsuit, he felt threatened in some way that there was going to be some unknown person coming back into the room later for an unwanted sexual encounter, is the way he interpreted it. And that is the sexual harassment part of it. And that's when he says he took it to the management company. He took it to security at the hotel, he said as well, And that is when the management company, at least Will Smith's management company seemingly turned on him and accused him of making it up and lying, which why would he do that? As well? But they essentially turned on him, said he made it all up and made a big deal of it, and he was fired.
00:06:31
Speaker 3: And what's so confusing about that is if you are going to make something up, why have it be so confusing stone F?
00:06:38
Speaker 2: I googled stone F.
00:06:39
Speaker 3: I'm sure everybody who's read the story, has googled stone f the only thing that comes back.
00:06:44
Speaker 2: Is this story.
00:06:45
Speaker 3: It's not some moniker that Will Smith goes by, or that someone else knowingly goes by, and so it's just a strange thing. The details are so odd it doesn't make a lot of sense to make them up because they don't.
00:06:58
Speaker 2: Point in a clear direction.
00:07:00
Speaker 3: He did make some assumptions, but it's interesting if someone said, Brian, I'll be back no later than five thirty, just us with a hard drawn drawn and those weird things. I think I might stick around to see who shows up at five thirty. But he made the choice to change rooms. He felt threatened. He said he was scared, so but that's weird.
00:07:18
Speaker 1: I would be too. If something is in my room, someone clearly left it here, and they left me a note saying they'll be back. That if you have no idea who that is, that is terrifying to possibly think you can't relax at any point during the day. So that's that again, it's just bizarre. Now he doesn't make an accusation, at least that I have seen robes that he believes that Will Smith left the note, and that accusation is not in there fas I didn't.
00:07:45
Speaker 3: See that he was directly linking that to will Smith. But he does get specific about Will Smith.
00:07:51
Speaker 1: Yes, he starts using words in the lawsuit and accusing Will Smith, and he says it's based on a combination of things, his bag going missing and in this note that's found, and then he combines that with some things he Will Smith allegedly said to him, I only see this one quote that's out there saying that at some point in a private moment, Will Smith said to him, you and I have a such a special relationship. Excuse me, You and I have such a special connection that I don't have with anyone else. End quote. Again, that's it. I'll read it against that chopped it up the first time. You and I have such a special connection that I don't have with anyone else. Now he puts all this together and he lands on grooming, priming. That's in the lawsuit. He said this was a part of grooming and priming him for sexual exploitation.
00:08:43
Speaker 3: Yes, but to just give that quote and nothing else that falls massively short of anyone understanding or at least believing.
00:08:54
Speaker 2: And I don't want to. You can't.
00:08:56
Speaker 3: It's hard to judge in these moments because this is so new and there isn't a lot of information. But if you're you're putting this lawsuit out and you're trying to say, see what happened, that seems like a very small amount of quote unquote evidence. He did say that they began spending additional time alone and that began when he was auditioning for the role, and that is where his attorneys said there is going to be more to come, So we just kind of have to have the dot dot right now. But it's it's difficult, I imagine, to be the accused in this and to have so little actually be presented with the dangling of a carrot or the bread crumbing saying more to come later.
00:09:36
Speaker 2: There is a lot more to reveal.
00:09:38
Speaker 1: See, that's the and that's why I say breadcrumbs. And it seems like this could be a part of a negotiating tactic, like you know, we got more. I'm gonna hit you with this. You want to settle now, Okay, I'm gona hit you with a little more. You sure you don't want to settle, because then we're really going to hit you.
00:09:52
Speaker 2: You just nailed it.
00:09:53
Speaker 1: It feels like that to me like this, maybe these conversations have been going on and it wasn't resolved to his satisfaction, and now here we are but to say, you know how everybody's going to take that if you say they quote began spending additional time alone. You know what people are going to think when they read that. The only quote he wants to add is the one in which Will Smith allegedly says they have a special connection that I don't have with anyone else. What do you I don't know. This could all be one hundred percent true, and that's fine. This guy could have absolutely been subjected to something he should not have from a legal standpoint. Even but what this seems like it comes off as is I.
00:10:34
Speaker 3: Think you just hit the nail on the head, because that would be the best explanation. I just had an AHA moment when you said that, because if he didn't put a name or sorry a number on the lawsuit, he hasn't asked for a specific amount that we know of.
00:10:48
Speaker 2: So it's almost like a fishing expedition.
00:10:51
Speaker 3: Okay, you know what I know, and you know I might have texts, I might have proof, I might have a lot of stuff, and by me filing this on New Year's Eve.
00:11:01
Speaker 2: You're on notice, and if you don't.
00:11:03
Speaker 3: Pay me a certain amount of money, I will continue to start releasing texts information that are going to be embarrassing to you. And that makes the story make a heck of a lot more sense.
00:11:15
Speaker 1: Because right now it doesn't. It just does not make a whole lot of sense. It doesn't have to to us necessarily, But when you're talking about somebody with a name that big, obviously it's going to get a lot of attention and a lot of scrutiny. And right now it's not. Things aren't adding up just yet. But they choose robes in the lawsuit to put it this way. The sequence of events and circumstances of the hotel intrusion all point to a pattern of predatory behavior rather than an isolated incident predatory behavior. Now they might know more, but man, we've seen predatory behavior. We understand grooming better in this country. A pattern of predatory behavior from whatever is in that room, and one line he gave me doesn't add up.
00:12:12
Speaker 3: No, for them to make that statements, they have to have more, or at least it would be very flimsy of it would be a very flimsy lawsuit.
00:12:21
Speaker 2: If there was nothing more it would be.
00:12:25
Speaker 3: It's an interesting thing. And the fact that these headlines are everywhere. Will Smith is already know. This is obviously a man who has been trying to repair his.
00:12:34
Speaker 2: Damaged reputation after the OSCARS.
00:12:38
Speaker 3: This has been a process where he has been he pulled back, he has been working on himself.
00:12:42
Speaker 2: He has been trying to.
00:12:44
Speaker 3: Make a new name or at least create a different path for himself. This is the last thing he would want to happen right now. They also said in the lawsuit that Joseph suffered severe emotional distress, economic loss, reputational harm, and other damages. And he has gone on Instagram not getting specific, but you know, people are I was just his Instagram, but folks are commenting like, you know, we believe you, we support you.
00:13:12
Speaker 2: He's saying thank you for the support. So he he.
00:13:16
Speaker 3: Is out there with his name and his face and that is all the information he's given though. He's just thanked his supporters for being there for him.
00:13:26
Speaker 1: And we did hear from both camps. He just mentioned there what he said on Instagram where his lawyer has been talking and we've heard from Will Smith's attorney as well, stay here and let you hear for yourself if these breadcrumbs are starting to make any sense. We continue here on Amy and TJ, trying to make sense of a lot of headlines, pretty explosive headlines saying that Will Smith has been accused sexual harassment, that Will Smith has been accused of predatory behavior, Will Smith being accused of grooming someone. But when you start reading into some of these details of this lawsuit and really rogues truth be told. We saw the headlines and we thought, wow, we're gonna have to do an update. It took us two hours almost to try to figure out and make we actually step back and say, well, maybe it's not really that, and we don't and then we finally decided, but it is. It's I don't know if bizarre is the right word. It just we don't have all the details yet.
00:14:29
Speaker 3: Maybe that's it, and that had to be by design. I never consider that, but that had to be by design. They're hoping to not take this to court, potentially by just giving us a few details and perhaps withholding the things that would make it make sense.
00:14:44
Speaker 1: So we talk about break Crump and these two quotes from Joseph's lawyer again the name man's name is Brian King Joseph, who has filed this lawsuit. These are two of the strongest statements that I have seen that I guess suggest just a little more than breadcrumbs.
00:15:02
Speaker 2: Yes, the first one.
00:15:04
Speaker 3: My client, Brian King Joseph is a former America's Got Talent Star violinist who was hired by Will Smith to go on tour with Smith for his new album. There is a lot of information that will come out as a part of the litigation process that we are not able to share at this time. Brian was very close with Smith prior to the termination and was headlined in one of the concerts.
00:15:29
Speaker 1: That sounds like a threat.
00:15:30
Speaker 2: It absolutely does.
00:15:32
Speaker 1: There is a lot more that will come out as part of litigation that we can't share right now. And why would you put in there. Brian was very close with Smith. Why would you put that in there? He was very close with Smith, this violinist that he just met for the first time in November of twenty twenty four and was going to start touring with him in March, just starting they were very close. Maybe well, they seem to be trying to say something without saying it, and that seems Look, yes, tactics, lawyers use them all this part of it, and I don't think any of them would think I'm making a mean accusation by saying he's probably doing some good lawyering. But it sure feels that.
00:16:13
Speaker 3: Way to me. Oh, it's highly suggestive without actually having to say anything substantive.
00:16:20
Speaker 1: One more quote here, and this one's pretty heavy. Here, the fact strongly suggests that defendant Willard Carol Smith the second was deliberately grooming and priming mister Joseph for further sexual exploitation. The sequence of events, Smith's prior statements to plaintiff, and the circumstances of the hotel intrusion all point to a pattern of predatory behavior rather than an isolated incident. That was the big line. But to say the fact strongly suggests he was deliberately groomed. That is a direct accusation. Yes, we are saying will Smith was grooming this guy for sex.
00:16:55
Speaker 3: Yes, and also I thought it was interesting priming him for further sexual exploitation.
00:17:01
Speaker 1: Lawyer knows what he's doing. Wow, I mean, just say it if you're don't say it. But man, we talked about this with Tyler perryge and but you said it makes a difference when somebody puts their name on these things. But you also said it makes a difference when someone goes through the criminal process versus a civil one. And from what I'm seeing even here, are they suggesting anything criminal?
00:17:24
Speaker 3: No?
00:17:24
Speaker 2: Right, No, I mean, wrongful termination is not criminal.
00:17:28
Speaker 1: You can take somebody court for that, sure, but that's not that right. It's I don't I don't think any like some of the things of sexual assaults. This is not what we're talking about here.
00:17:36
Speaker 2: No, there's no Yeah, that's a good point.
00:17:37
Speaker 3: There's no accusation of sexual assault, just sexual harassment.
00:17:42
Speaker 1: Based on this. But they're only basing it on a statement. And this ah, so again folks that clearly we are Maybe we shouldn't have hit the record button so soon, because we're in real time trying to figure this thing out.
00:17:54
Speaker 2: I think a lot of people are, though.
00:17:56
Speaker 3: I think the point is you you wake up, there's no way you don't see this headline. Probably there's no way you don't click on this headline, and then when you start reading it, we have a feeling you're going to be saying and thinking the same things we are, and that's the point. This is not a lot of information, but really charged headlines.
00:18:15
Speaker 1: And we did hear from at least Daily Beasts had a statement from Will Smith's attorney at least saying and pretty short and to the point here. They are categorically denied, and we will use all legal means available to address these claims and to ensure that the truth is brought to light. They deny every single bit of every single thing that's being.
00:18:36
Speaker 2: Said, period. That's I mean.
00:18:38
Speaker 3: Tyler Perry's lawyer was also succinct in denying all of this. And look, these are the types of lawsuits We're seeing more and more of them. And yes they have recently had people put their names to them, but this is now.
00:18:53
Speaker 2: People now feel like they are justified.
00:18:58
Speaker 3: And I'm not saying they're not in saying, hey, hey, this happened to me, and there needs to be consequences and people need to know about this type of behavior, and I'm going to call them out and say who I am, what I do, and I'm not going to be ashamed of being targeted.
00:19:17
Speaker 1: Keep your eye on this one, folks, because there is at least according to this guy's attorney, there is a lot more information promised to put out that maybe will help us make more sense of this story, but for now, we always appreciate you spending some time here with us. For Amy Robock, I am TJ. Holmes. We will talk to you also
Speaker 1: Hey, that folks. It is Friday, January second, and the headlines will tell you that Will Smith is being sued for sexual harassments, that he's being accused of deliberately grooming someone, that he is being accused of predatory behavior. But we're actually still trying to make sense of this new lawsuit that he's been hit with, and with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ Robes. The headlines do include all those words the lawsuit, and he includes all those words, but it's not that cut and dry. Is it fair to say? This is confusing and we're all trying to get our heads around it.
00:00:40
Speaker 2: Very confusing.
00:00:41
Speaker 3: Yes, if you open your phone today or your computer, you are going to see these incendiary headlines about Will Smith's pictures everywhere, and then you start reading the details and you're left with a question mark, Huh, what is what is.
00:00:57
Speaker 1: It that he did?
00:00:58
Speaker 2: What is it that he said? Who is this?
00:01:01
Speaker 1: It's very confusing, and we don't want to take away always you have to take these claims seriously, but this is now a lawsuit. We were here talking too long ago about the lawsuit that Tyler Perry got under the tree that was filed on Christmas Day. It looks like this one was filed on New Year's Eve, so this was kind of a New Year's gift Will Smith. But was there a monitor? No this one. At least there's not a monetary number attached to this one yet.
00:01:27
Speaker 3: I didn't see a monetary number yet, but there is, or at least the statements I saw.
00:01:33
Speaker 2: There is more coming.
00:01:34
Speaker 3: They're saying there's going to be additional details released at a later date, so maybe we will get a number. And it seemed as though again everything is a little fuzzy, but.
00:01:44
Speaker 2: There are more.
00:01:46
Speaker 3: They claim they have more evidence and there's more to say. But what we have to look at right now isn't a lot.
00:01:53
Speaker 1: I didn't know what to make of that either, just as to it was our tale. But we'll tell you at least what's going on, because you will see the headline that Will Smith has been sued facing a civil lawsuit here that accuses him of retaliation for wrongful termination of an employee and for sexual harassment. Now Will Smith is named along with his management companies called Trey Ball Studio Management. They are named now. The person who is assuming is not a name I was familiar with, but he at least Robes by all accounts, is an accomplished guy, a violinist who made a name for himself as well on a national show and being a fan finalist in it.
00:02:31
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's right, he was.
00:02:32
Speaker 3: I believe he'd got into the top three of America's Got Talent. He was a finalist back in twenty eighteen. I checked out his Instagram page. He's got Yes, he's a phenomenal electric violinist, I believe is what he does. But he travels and tours the world with his talents, and he was seemingly says he was very excited to be a part of Will Smith's new tour that he launched. I guess it began around March and then was supposed to go through September, a worldwide tour for.
00:03:00
Speaker 2: Some of his new music.
00:03:01
Speaker 3: It was Will Smith's comeback tour, so to speak, going back to music after everything that happened in the oscars.
00:03:07
Speaker 2: So yeah, this was all supposed to be positive and a.
00:03:11
Speaker 3: Way forward and a way through all of the stuff that he had behind him.
00:03:15
Speaker 1: So the guy says he met I think did we say the name Brian King Joseph.
00:03:19
Speaker 2: I don't know.
00:03:19
Speaker 1: Brian King Joseph is the name Brian. King Joseph is what he goes by. Now Here are the claims he said. I think I saw this story and read it right. He was hired by Will Smith to be a part of the tour. This was in November of twenty twenty four. But did you read as well he auditioned for him at his home. Now, I'm not sure that's perfectly normal, but that's just a part of the story as well.
00:03:43
Speaker 3: Yes, and yes, he has a lot of suggestions of intimate encounters and intimate just conversations. That doesn't seem like it would be a typical way to handle hiring musicians for your tour.
00:03:58
Speaker 1: And I want to be clear what we're saying when we say in mid encounters, we were talking about just somewhere in private, or they're having a moment where not nothing at least No, it's suggesting a physical relation ship, although they seem to be leaving some weird breadcrumbs about the story. Anyway way to put it, there's.
00:04:14
Speaker 2: A lot of bread crumbing going on. That's a perfect way to put it.
00:04:17
Speaker 1: Seems like it's intentional bread crumbing. And we're going to get into exactly what we're talking about here, So what was the sexual harassment? He said he was hired. He started in March of twenty twenty five. I think he was just getting started. They go to a hotel in Vegas. The whole crew is there, all the band and everybody's staying in a hotel and he said he returned to his hotel room and he could tell someone had entered the room. And this is where things start to get weird.
00:04:47
Speaker 2: Yeah, this is really strange.
00:04:48
Speaker 3: I think he said he left his bag on the tour bus where anybody in the tour could have had access to his room key.
00:04:53
Speaker 2: That's how he's claiming this may have happened.
00:04:55
Speaker 3: But when he gets to his room, he said, there were wipes, there was a beer bottle, there was HIV medication with someone else's name on it. A lot of folks say it's kind of like prep basically for a gay encounter. Another way to look at it, hospital discharge paperwork with someone else's name on it. But the big question mark is this note that he says was left in his room alongside all of these strange items that were all collected in one area.
00:05:27
Speaker 1: And the note makes no sense. But he says it has his name on it, Brian, I'll be back no later five point thirty, just us. And it says there was a little heart drawn on the note, and the note is signed stone F. Is the name stone F. Now you might be listening and you're waiting, like okay, But that is at least in his mind, Accordins's lawsuit, he felt threatened in some way that there was going to be some unknown person coming back into the room later for an unwanted sexual encounter, is the way he interpreted it. And that is the sexual harassment part of it. And that's when he says he took it to the management company. He took it to security at the hotel, he said as well, And that is when the management company, at least Will Smith's management company seemingly turned on him and accused him of making it up and lying, which why would he do that? As well? But they essentially turned on him, said he made it all up and made a big deal of it, and he was fired.
00:06:31
Speaker 3: And what's so confusing about that is if you are going to make something up, why have it be so confusing stone F?
00:06:38
Speaker 2: I googled stone F.
00:06:39
Speaker 3: I'm sure everybody who's read the story, has googled stone f the only thing that comes back.
00:06:44
Speaker 2: Is this story.
00:06:45
Speaker 3: It's not some moniker that Will Smith goes by, or that someone else knowingly goes by, and so it's just a strange thing. The details are so odd it doesn't make a lot of sense to make them up because they don't.
00:06:58
Speaker 2: Point in a clear direction.
00:07:00
Speaker 3: He did make some assumptions, but it's interesting if someone said, Brian, I'll be back no later than five thirty, just us with a hard drawn drawn and those weird things. I think I might stick around to see who shows up at five thirty. But he made the choice to change rooms. He felt threatened. He said he was scared, so but that's weird.
00:07:18
Speaker 1: I would be too. If something is in my room, someone clearly left it here, and they left me a note saying they'll be back. That if you have no idea who that is, that is terrifying to possibly think you can't relax at any point during the day. So that's that again, it's just bizarre. Now he doesn't make an accusation, at least that I have seen robes that he believes that Will Smith left the note, and that accusation is not in there fas I didn't.
00:07:45
Speaker 3: See that he was directly linking that to will Smith. But he does get specific about Will Smith.
00:07:51
Speaker 1: Yes, he starts using words in the lawsuit and accusing Will Smith, and he says it's based on a combination of things, his bag going missing and in this note that's found, and then he combines that with some things he Will Smith allegedly said to him, I only see this one quote that's out there saying that at some point in a private moment, Will Smith said to him, you and I have a such a special relationship. Excuse me, You and I have such a special connection that I don't have with anyone else. End quote. Again, that's it. I'll read it against that chopped it up the first time. You and I have such a special connection that I don't have with anyone else. Now he puts all this together and he lands on grooming, priming. That's in the lawsuit. He said this was a part of grooming and priming him for sexual exploitation.
00:08:43
Speaker 3: Yes, but to just give that quote and nothing else that falls massively short of anyone understanding or at least believing.
00:08:54
Speaker 2: And I don't want to. You can't.
00:08:56
Speaker 3: It's hard to judge in these moments because this is so new and there isn't a lot of information. But if you're you're putting this lawsuit out and you're trying to say, see what happened, that seems like a very small amount of quote unquote evidence. He did say that they began spending additional time alone and that began when he was auditioning for the role, and that is where his attorneys said there is going to be more to come, So we just kind of have to have the dot dot right now. But it's it's difficult, I imagine, to be the accused in this and to have so little actually be presented with the dangling of a carrot or the bread crumbing saying more to come later.
00:09:36
Speaker 2: There is a lot more to reveal.
00:09:38
Speaker 1: See, that's the and that's why I say breadcrumbs. And it seems like this could be a part of a negotiating tactic, like you know, we got more. I'm gonna hit you with this. You want to settle now, Okay, I'm gona hit you with a little more. You sure you don't want to settle, because then we're really going to hit you.
00:09:52
Speaker 2: You just nailed it.
00:09:53
Speaker 1: It feels like that to me like this, maybe these conversations have been going on and it wasn't resolved to his satisfaction, and now here we are but to say, you know how everybody's going to take that if you say they quote began spending additional time alone. You know what people are going to think when they read that. The only quote he wants to add is the one in which Will Smith allegedly says they have a special connection that I don't have with anyone else. What do you I don't know. This could all be one hundred percent true, and that's fine. This guy could have absolutely been subjected to something he should not have from a legal standpoint. Even but what this seems like it comes off as is I.
00:10:34
Speaker 3: Think you just hit the nail on the head, because that would be the best explanation. I just had an AHA moment when you said that, because if he didn't put a name or sorry a number on the lawsuit, he hasn't asked for a specific amount that we know of.
00:10:48
Speaker 2: So it's almost like a fishing expedition.
00:10:51
Speaker 3: Okay, you know what I know, and you know I might have texts, I might have proof, I might have a lot of stuff, and by me filing this on New Year's Eve.
00:11:01
Speaker 2: You're on notice, and if you don't.
00:11:03
Speaker 3: Pay me a certain amount of money, I will continue to start releasing texts information that are going to be embarrassing to you. And that makes the story make a heck of a lot more sense.
00:11:15
Speaker 1: Because right now it doesn't. It just does not make a whole lot of sense. It doesn't have to to us necessarily, But when you're talking about somebody with a name that big, obviously it's going to get a lot of attention and a lot of scrutiny. And right now it's not. Things aren't adding up just yet. But they choose robes in the lawsuit to put it this way. The sequence of events and circumstances of the hotel intrusion all point to a pattern of predatory behavior rather than an isolated incident predatory behavior. Now they might know more, but man, we've seen predatory behavior. We understand grooming better in this country. A pattern of predatory behavior from whatever is in that room, and one line he gave me doesn't add up.
00:12:12
Speaker 3: No, for them to make that statements, they have to have more, or at least it would be very flimsy of it would be a very flimsy lawsuit.
00:12:21
Speaker 2: If there was nothing more it would be.
00:12:25
Speaker 3: It's an interesting thing. And the fact that these headlines are everywhere. Will Smith is already know. This is obviously a man who has been trying to repair his.
00:12:34
Speaker 2: Damaged reputation after the OSCARS.
00:12:38
Speaker 3: This has been a process where he has been he pulled back, he has been working on himself.
00:12:42
Speaker 2: He has been trying to.
00:12:44
Speaker 3: Make a new name or at least create a different path for himself. This is the last thing he would want to happen right now. They also said in the lawsuit that Joseph suffered severe emotional distress, economic loss, reputational harm, and other damages. And he has gone on Instagram not getting specific, but you know, people are I was just his Instagram, but folks are commenting like, you know, we believe you, we support you.
00:13:12
Speaker 2: He's saying thank you for the support. So he he.
00:13:16
Speaker 3: Is out there with his name and his face and that is all the information he's given though. He's just thanked his supporters for being there for him.
00:13:26
Speaker 1: And we did hear from both camps. He just mentioned there what he said on Instagram where his lawyer has been talking and we've heard from Will Smith's attorney as well, stay here and let you hear for yourself if these breadcrumbs are starting to make any sense. We continue here on Amy and TJ, trying to make sense of a lot of headlines, pretty explosive headlines saying that Will Smith has been accused sexual harassment, that Will Smith has been accused of predatory behavior, Will Smith being accused of grooming someone. But when you start reading into some of these details of this lawsuit and really rogues truth be told. We saw the headlines and we thought, wow, we're gonna have to do an update. It took us two hours almost to try to figure out and make we actually step back and say, well, maybe it's not really that, and we don't and then we finally decided, but it is. It's I don't know if bizarre is the right word. It just we don't have all the details yet.
00:14:29
Speaker 3: Maybe that's it, and that had to be by design. I never consider that, but that had to be by design. They're hoping to not take this to court, potentially by just giving us a few details and perhaps withholding the things that would make it make sense.
00:14:44
Speaker 1: So we talk about break Crump and these two quotes from Joseph's lawyer again the name man's name is Brian King Joseph, who has filed this lawsuit. These are two of the strongest statements that I have seen that I guess suggest just a little more than breadcrumbs.
00:15:02
Speaker 2: Yes, the first one.
00:15:04
Speaker 3: My client, Brian King Joseph is a former America's Got Talent Star violinist who was hired by Will Smith to go on tour with Smith for his new album. There is a lot of information that will come out as a part of the litigation process that we are not able to share at this time. Brian was very close with Smith prior to the termination and was headlined in one of the concerts.
00:15:29
Speaker 1: That sounds like a threat.
00:15:30
Speaker 2: It absolutely does.
00:15:32
Speaker 1: There is a lot more that will come out as part of litigation that we can't share right now. And why would you put in there. Brian was very close with Smith. Why would you put that in there? He was very close with Smith, this violinist that he just met for the first time in November of twenty twenty four and was going to start touring with him in March, just starting they were very close. Maybe well, they seem to be trying to say something without saying it, and that seems Look, yes, tactics, lawyers use them all this part of it, and I don't think any of them would think I'm making a mean accusation by saying he's probably doing some good lawyering. But it sure feels that.
00:16:13
Speaker 3: Way to me. Oh, it's highly suggestive without actually having to say anything substantive.
00:16:20
Speaker 1: One more quote here, and this one's pretty heavy. Here, the fact strongly suggests that defendant Willard Carol Smith the second was deliberately grooming and priming mister Joseph for further sexual exploitation. The sequence of events, Smith's prior statements to plaintiff, and the circumstances of the hotel intrusion all point to a pattern of predatory behavior rather than an isolated incident. That was the big line. But to say the fact strongly suggests he was deliberately groomed. That is a direct accusation. Yes, we are saying will Smith was grooming this guy for sex.
00:16:55
Speaker 3: Yes, and also I thought it was interesting priming him for further sexual exploitation.
00:17:01
Speaker 1: Lawyer knows what he's doing. Wow, I mean, just say it if you're don't say it. But man, we talked about this with Tyler perryge and but you said it makes a difference when somebody puts their name on these things. But you also said it makes a difference when someone goes through the criminal process versus a civil one. And from what I'm seeing even here, are they suggesting anything criminal?
00:17:24
Speaker 3: No?
00:17:24
Speaker 2: Right, No, I mean, wrongful termination is not criminal.
00:17:28
Speaker 1: You can take somebody court for that, sure, but that's not that right. It's I don't I don't think any like some of the things of sexual assaults. This is not what we're talking about here.
00:17:36
Speaker 2: No, there's no Yeah, that's a good point.
00:17:37
Speaker 3: There's no accusation of sexual assault, just sexual harassment.
00:17:42
Speaker 1: Based on this. But they're only basing it on a statement. And this ah, so again folks that clearly we are Maybe we shouldn't have hit the record button so soon, because we're in real time trying to figure this thing out.
00:17:54
Speaker 2: I think a lot of people are, though.
00:17:56
Speaker 3: I think the point is you you wake up, there's no way you don't see this headline. Probably there's no way you don't click on this headline, and then when you start reading it, we have a feeling you're going to be saying and thinking the same things we are, and that's the point. This is not a lot of information, but really charged headlines.
00:18:15
Speaker 1: And we did hear from at least Daily Beasts had a statement from Will Smith's attorney at least saying and pretty short and to the point here. They are categorically denied, and we will use all legal means available to address these claims and to ensure that the truth is brought to light. They deny every single bit of every single thing that's being.
00:18:36
Speaker 2: Said, period. That's I mean.
00:18:38
Speaker 3: Tyler Perry's lawyer was also succinct in denying all of this. And look, these are the types of lawsuits We're seeing more and more of them. And yes they have recently had people put their names to them, but this is now.
00:18:53
Speaker 2: People now feel like they are justified.
00:18:58
Speaker 3: And I'm not saying they're not in saying, hey, hey, this happened to me, and there needs to be consequences and people need to know about this type of behavior, and I'm going to call them out and say who I am, what I do, and I'm not going to be ashamed of being targeted.
00:19:17
Speaker 1: Keep your eye on this one, folks, because there is at least according to this guy's attorney, there is a lot more information promised to put out that maybe will help us make more sense of this story, but for now, we always appreciate you spending some time here with us. For Amy Robock, I am TJ. Holmes. We will talk to you also