Jada Pinkett Smith awarded $30K in legal battle with Will Smith’s ex-friend Bilaal Salaam
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Actress and businesswoman Jada Pinkett Smith secured a legal victory on Monday, May 18, in the multi-million dollar lawsuit brought against her by husband Will Smith’s former friend, Bilaal Salaam.
A Los Angeles judge ordered Salaam to pay Pinkett Smith $32,836 in attorneys’ fees and costs during a hearing. The ruling came after she successfully challenged several claims made against her in the ongoing case.
Jada Pinkett Smith wins partial court victory over Bilaal Salaam
According to court documents, although Pinkett Smith had initially requested $49,181, Judge Eric Harmon reduced the amount after determining that some of her legal team’s time entries were “excessive.” The judge also rejected Salaam’s request to lower the amount further based on what he described as “his inability to pay.”
The legal dispute began in November when Salaam sued her for intentional infliction of emotional distress, alleging in his official complaint that she threatened him on multiple occasions. She later challenged the lawsuit and successfully moved to strike several of his claims.
He is continuing to seek $3 million in damages, along with interest, legal costs, and a public retraction of what he described as “false and defamatory” statements allegedly made by Pinkett Smith about him.
One alleged incident reportedly took place during a private birthday gathering for her husband in 2021. Salaam, who claimed he had been “best friends” with Smith for 40 years, alleged that she and “seven members of her entourage” warned him he would “end up missing or catch a bullet” if he continued speaking about her “personal business.”
Another alleged incident outlined in his complaint stemmed from the aftermath of the 2022 Oscars ceremony, during which Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock on stage after Rock made a joke about Pinkett Smith. Salaam claimed he was contacted to assist with “crisis management” following the incident.
Jada Pinkett Smith and Bilaal Salaam’s ongoing legal feud continues in court
According to Salaam, when he refused to help, the Smiths allegedly launched a “retaliatory campaign” against him. He further alleged that tensions escalated after the couple learned he was writing a memoir about his experiences with the family.
He later discussed the Smiths publicly in an interview. In response, Pinkett Smith allegedly accused him of attempting a “money shakedown” to extort the family and stated that she intended to sue him.
Following the filing of the complaint, she moved to strike the lawsuit entirely under California’s anti-SLAPP statute.
The statute is designed to protect against lawsuits targeting protected speech and public participation. Her filing argued that Salaam’s claims arose from “protected activity,” including his alleged disclosure of a cease-and-desist letter.
In April, the court partially granted her motion, striking “all allegations relating to the public media statements” from Salaam’s complaint. During the May 18 hearing, Judge Harmon also denied his request to immediately move the case to trial. Instead, the judge directed both parties to participate in a case management conference scheduled for August.
