Will Smith has gone on record to deny rumors about his sexuality which dominated headlines earlier this week.
In an interview on the Unwine with Tasha K podcast, Smith’s former assistant Brother Bilaal made graphic claims about an alleged sexual encounter between the King Richard actor and his pal, Duane Martin, which Bilaal claimed to have witnessed in 1993 on the set of Fresh Prince of Bel Air.
“We suin’!” the star’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, told paparazzi earlier this week in response to the allegations.
Now, Smith himself has released a statement to People denying any sexual encounter between himself and Martin. “This story is completely fabricated and the claim is unequivocally false,” a representative for Smith told the outlet.
Pinkett Smith gave more details of the “shakedown” while speaking to Charlamagne the God on the radio program The Breakfast Club earlier in the week. In her new memoir Worthy, Pinkett discusses how she and her husband have had to endure speculations about their sexuality for their entire 26-year marriage. She classified these new rumors as more of the same.
“Let me just say this: It’s ridiculous, right? And it’s nonsense,” Pinkett said, before reiterating that the family would be taking legal action against Brother Bilaal.
“This is a person that tried a shakedown, a money shakedown that didn’t work,” Pinkett Smith explained. “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. Will was willing to give him a certain amount, and he didn’t take it. So, this whole situation is based on that.”
She continued: “We’re gonna take legal action. Because it’s one thing to have your opinion about somebody, versus just making up salacious, malicious stories. So that’s actionable. So we gon’ roll with that.”
In typical fashion, Pinkett Smith said, her husband has kept a positive outlook amidst the situation. “Will’s always gonna find the funny,” she told the hosts. “He’s always gonna find the funny, you know what I’m saying? You have to. Because it’s absolutely ridiculous. He was like, ‘Do you believe this shit?’ But we just laughed about it.”
Tasha K, the host who posted the interview with Brother Bilaal, currently owes rapper Cardi B more than $3 million after a ruling in a defamation suit found the YouTuber liable for disparaging remarks she made about the “I Like It” singer. On Wednesday, Cardi B took to Instagram Live to lambaste Tasha K and throw her support behind Smith.
“Some people never change,” she said of the host, before explaining, “I don’t like what people be doing to Will Smith. I be feeling like Will Smith is very unproblematic and I feel like he has a nice heart. I’m so tired of people picking on that man. Deadass.”
The Smiths have had a busy few months in terms of publicity. Since the release of Worthy, Will and Jada have dominated headlines with stories about their relationship. After revealing that the couple separated in 2016 before reuniting after the Oscar’s slap, Jada discussed why being a “doting” partner to Will made her unhappy, and how the couple constructed a “sex room” in their home.