Jada Pinkett Smith Deposition Fight Heats Up in Threats Lawsuit Tied to Oscars Slap

Jada Pinkett Smith is facing a renewed push to sit for a deposition in the lawsuit brought by Bilaal Salaam, who alleges she threatened and intimidated him after he refused to help with crisis management following the 2022 Oscars slap.

Salaam, who is representing himself, reportedly filed new papers Tuesday, September 8, in Van Nuys Superior Court asking Judge Eric Harmon to intervene. He says he gave notice to Pinkett Smith’s attorneys two months ago but still has not received a deposition date.

“I cannot schedule the depositions of any intermediary witness in my discovery plan until defendant’s deposition is completed,” Salaam wrote. “The delay is causing me ongoing prejudice.”

Salaam says he made good faith efforts to resolve the scheduling fight without court involvement.

“Those efforts are exhausted,” he wrote.

Pinkett Smith’s attorneys argue the dispute is not simply about scheduling. In court papers, they say Salaam is seeking unwarranted revisions to the court’s standard deposition protective order.

According to her attorneys, Salaam objects to provisions preventing him from disclosing confidential materials to law enforcement and wants the ability to reveal information he says he possessed before the current case. Pinkett Smith’s team says the judge has already rejected those proposed modifications.

Her attorneys also say they agreed that the protective order would not apply to a prior civil harassment proceeding involving the two sides, but the parties remain at an impasse.

Salaam says Pinkett Smith’s attorneys have conditioned all deposition scheduling on resolving the protective order dispute.

“That is not a lawful basis for indefinite non-appearance,” he wrote.

Salaam sued Pinkett Smith on November 7, 2025, but the case was narrowed April 13 after the judge partially granted Pinkett Smith’s anti-SLAPP motion, leaving claims tied to alleged threats, coercion and intimidation through intermediaries.

Salaam alleges Pinkett Smith became upset after he refused to do crisis management following the 94th Academy Awards, where Will Smith slapped Chris Rock onstage. He also claims he received threats after Pinkett Smith learned he planned to publish a memoir discussing her personal business.

In a separate August filing, Salaam moved to add Will Smith as a co-defendant in his $3 million emotional distress case against Pinkett Smith.

Salaam alleged Pinkett Smith told him during an October 5, 2021, phone call that she would have him “killed if he continued to discuss her personal business or publish his memoir.” Salaam claims Smith was with her and allegedly said, “you heard what my wife said.”

Salaam also alleges that associates later threatened him after he refused to help with post-Oscars crisis management. Pinkett Smith has denied Salaam’s claims in interviews, accusing him of attempting a “money shakedown.”