The backstory: a $3 million lawsuit, the legal drama between Jada Pinkett Smith and Bilaal Salaam Will Smith’s former best friend of four decades, After successfully getting three emotional distress claims thrown out, Jada Pinkett Smith demands $49K in legal fees from Will Smith’s ex friend.
Jada Pinkett Smith is now asking a California court to make Bilaal Salaam foot her legal bill. is far from over. After a California court struck down three of Salaam’s claims against her, Pinkett Smith is now going after him for the money she spent fighting the case.
In a motion filed April 20 and obtained by People, Pinkett Smith is requesting that Salaam pay $49,181.23 in attorneys’ fees she accrued during her successful effort to partially dismantle his complaint. The request also covers additional fees and costs tied to the new motion itself.
Salaam, who also goes by Brother Bilaal, filed a $3 million lawsuit against Pinkett Smith in December 2025, alleging intentional infliction of emotional distress. The claims stemmed from an alleged confrontation at the Regency Calabasas Commons in September 2021, where Salaam said Pinkett Smith approached him with roughly seven members of her entourage and threatened him. According to his complaint, she warned him he would end up missing or face physical harm if he continued talking about her personal life. He also alleged she pressured him to sign a nondisclosure agreement.
The anti SLAPP fight
In February, Pinkett Smith moved to have Salaam’s complaint thrown out entirely, arguing it ran afoul of California’s anti-SLAPP statute a law designed to quickly eliminate meritless claims that arise from protected activities, such as public statements and pre-litigation communications.
Central to her defense was a cease-and-desist letter that the Smiths had sent to Salaam. Her legal team argued the letter was confidential legal correspondence sent in anticipation of litigation and therefore protected under California law. The court agreed with her position on the three intentional infliction of emotional distress claims and struck all allegations tied to the media statements that formed their foundation, as well as references to the cease and desist letter.
With that partial victory secured, Pinkett Smith’s legal team is now arguing she is entitled to recover the full cost of achieving it.
How the feud began
The dispute traces back to November 2023, when Salaam appeared on the podcast Unwine With Tasha K and alleged that he had walked in on Will Smith engaged in a sexual act with actor Duane Martin. He also made claims about Pinkett Smith’s private life.
Pinkett Smith quickly and publicly dismissed the allegations, calling them nonsense during an appearance on The Breakfast Club. She and Will Smith also signaled their intention to pursue legal action in response to the claims a statement Salaam’s lawsuit later used against her, alleging the threat of legal action was false, reckless and designed to damage his reputation rather than address any real wrongdoing.
Salaam moved first, however, filing his lawsuit before the Smiths followed through with their own legal action. His complaint characterized Pinkett Smith’s subsequent media appearances as a calculated smear campaign rather than a legitimate response to his allegations.
What comes next
The court has not yet ruled on Pinkett Smith’s fee request. The remaining portions of Salaam’s lawsuit are still active, meaning the legal battle between the two parties is ongoing. Pinkett Smith‘s attorneys had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.
For Pinkett Smith, the fee motion represents both a financial and strategic move a way to hold Salaam accountable for claims the court has already found to be legally deficient, while signaling that she intends to fight the rest of the case just as aggressively.
