Jada Pinkett Smith faces renewed push for deposition in lawsuit

Bilaal Salaam has filed new papers in the Van Nuys Superior Court, requesting judicial intervention to compel Jada Pinkett Smith to sit for a deposition. Salaam, who is representing himself, alleges that Pinkett Smith threatened and intimidated him after he declined to assist with crisis management following the 2022 Oscars incident.

Salaam claims that his attempts to schedule the deposition with Pinkett Smith’s legal team have been ignored for two months, which he argues is delaying the questioning of other intermediary witnesses. He previously attempted to subpoena Will Smith, but the request was blocked by his legal team.

Attorneys for Pinkett Smith contend that the dispute is not merely a scheduling issue but concerns the terms of a protective order. They state that Salaam is seeking to modify court standards to allow him to disclose confidential materials to law enforcement and use information he claims to have possessed prior to the lawsuit. The defense notes that the judge has already rejected these proposed modifications.