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Knowledgeable violinist who toured with Will Smith has filed a civil lawsuit alleging he was fired in retaliation for reporting what he described as a daunting and sexually suggestive intrusion into his resort room through the early leg of Smith’s 2025 tour.
In a criticism filed Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Courtroom, Brian King Joseph alleges that he was terminated from Smith’s “Based mostly on a True Story” tour after elevating security considerations about an incident that occurred whereas the tour was in Las Vegas in March.
The lawsuit, obtained by TheWrap, names Smith and his administration firm, Treyball Studios Administration Inc., as defendants and seeks damages for retaliation, wrongful termination, and alleged violations of California civil-rights and employment legal guidelines.
In keeping with the criticism, Joseph returned to his resort room late one evening to seek out proof that somebody had entered the room with out his data. He alleges there have been no indicators of pressured entry and that resort safety advised him the one individuals with entry to the room had been resort employees and members of the tour’s administration crew, which had booked and managed room assignments.
Joseph says he found a handwritten observe addressed to him by identify that referenced a return time and included a coronary heart image, together with private gadgets he says didn’t belong to him. The gadgets allegedly included wipes, an earring, medical paperwork, and a bottle of prescription remedy bearing one other individual’s identify.
The criticism doesn’t establish who entered the room. As an alternative, Joseph alleges that whoever did so had licensed entry and that the incident moderately precipitated him to concern that the individual meant to return to the room for sexual contact or assault.
Joseph, who appeared as a contenstant on Season 13 of “America’s Bought Expertise,” says he instantly reported the incident to resort safety, tour administration, and native authorities. He alleges he filed written reviews and requested solely fundamental security measures, not compensation or particular remedy.
Inside days, Joseph claims, tour administration accused him of fabricating the incident and terminated his employment. He alleges he was advised the tour was “transferring in a special course,” however that one other violinist was employed to fill the function.
The lawsuit alleges the termination was retaliation for reporting what Joseph believed was a office security and sexual-harassment difficulty. It additionally claims Smith made private statements to Joseph earlier of their working relationship that Joseph interpreted as unusually intimate, although the criticism stops in need of alleging Smith entered the room.
Joseph alleges that Smith was concerned within the determination to fireside him and that the response to his criticism violated state protections for worker whistleblowers. The lawsuit contains claims underneath California’s Truthful Employment and Housing Act, the state whistleblower statute, and civil-rights legal guidelines that prohibit retaliation and intimidation based mostly on intercourse or perceived sexual orientation.
A lawyer for Smith didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark Thursday.
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