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Bilaal Salaam is stuck between a rock and a hard place, asking a judge to let him pay off the $32,000-plus legal bill he owes to Jada Pinkett Smith through a payment plan instead of one lump sum.
The former friend of Will Smith claims he’s “certified homeless,” receives welfare benefits, and simply can’t afford the judgment that came down after he lost his lawsuit against the actress.
According to TMZ, Salaam filed court documents requesting either a reduction of the fee award or a structured payment arrangement to address the debt.
Here’s where it gets messier. Salaam originally sued Jada for $3 million, claiming intentional infliction of emotional distress after he says she threatened him at Will’s 2021 birthday party, telling him if he kept “telling her personal business” he’d “end up missing or catch a bullet.”
He also alleged she demanded he sign an NDA “or else” and had seven members of her entourage follow him to his car.
Salaam refused to help with crisis management after the Oscar slap and was writing a memoir about the family, which apparently set Jada off.
The judge sided with Jada and dismissed most of his claims, but Salaam’s now trying to add Will as a co-defendant.
Jada won her case and was awarded $32,836 in legal fees after successfully fighting Salaam’s claims.
Now he’s telling the court he can’t pay it.
The whole situation shows how messy things got between Will’s inner circle after the Oscars incident, with Salaam caught in the middle and facing serious financial consequences.
During a 2023 interview with Tasha K on her “Unwine” podcast, Salaam made some wild allegations, claiming he once walked in on Will and actor Duane Martin engaged in a sexual act.
Will Smith’s rep immediately shut that down, calling the claim “completely fabricated” and denying it entirely.
Bilaal’s also facing a separate $1 million lawsuit from Will’s ex-wife Sheree Zampino over offensive statements he made during the Tasha K interview.
