Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith Threaten Legal Action Over Duane Martin Claim

Jada Pinkett Smith is shutting down claims that Will Smith had sex with former Fresh Prince of Bel-Air co-star Duane Martin, saying she and her husband have plans to take “legal action” over the “ridiculous” allegations. The actress addressed claims made by Brother Bilal that Smith’s relationship was sexual during an appearance on Power 105.1’s The Breakfast Club Thursday, calling them “ridiculous” and “nonsense.”

Pinkett Smith said that Bilal’s claims that he walked in on Smith and Martin having sex years ago during an interview with a blogger named Tasha K on Wednesday were part of a “money shakedown” that didn’t work out. “We’re gonna take legal action,” she said. “Because it’s one thing to have your opinion about somebody versus just making up salacious, malicious stories. So, that’s actionable. So we gonna roll with that.”

According to the Red Table Talk star, Bilal, who claims to have been Smith’s former assistant, had previously worked on a book with the King Richard star but felt he had not been properly paid for his efforts. “It’s based around this person’s idea that they, in some way, were doing business around Will’s book, and that they spent money, or what have you, and that they needed to be compensated. So he already tried to do this money shakedown,” Pinkett Smith said. “Will was willing to give him a certain amount, and he didn’t take it. So, this whole situation is based on that.”

Pinkett Smith said that she didn’t know the details about the business deal she claimed went down between Smith and Bilal, but said of their next steps, “Like I told you, we ’bout to take legal action.” Smith’s representative told PEOPLE after Bilal made his claims, “This story is completely fabricated and the claim is unequivocally false.”

The blogger to whom Bilal made his claims, Tasha K, has found herself in legal trouble with celebrities before. In 2019, Cardi B filed a defamation lawsuit against her after the blogger made a number of negative claims against her. The court would ultimately side with Cardi, and Tasha K still owes the rapper more than $3 million in damages.