Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith Slam “Unequivocally False” Claim He Slept With Actor Duane Martin

Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith are ready to set it off—in court.

After Brother Bilal, a man claiming to be Will's former assistant, alleged in an interview that the Hitch star slept with friend Duane Martin, the couple has responded to the rumor.

"This story is completely fabricated," Will's rep told People in a Nov. 15 statement, "and the claim is unequivocally false." 

As for Jada, she also slammed the accusations, labeling it as "ridiculous" and "nonsense."

"This is a person that tried a shakedown, a money shakedown that didn't work," she said an in preview of a Nov. 16 appearance on The Breakfast Club. "We're gonna take legal action. Because it's one thing to have your opinion about somebody, versus just making up salacious, malicious stories. That's actionable. So, we gonna roll with that."

The Set It Off star—who recently shared she and Will have been separated since 2016—emphasized that the pair are about to "take legal action," stating that the Academy Award winner and Bilal may have had their differences over a business deal.

"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," she said of Will's 2021 self-titled memoir. "So, he already tried to do this money shakedown." 

Jada also went on to note that the King Richard star finds the whole situation "funny," recalling that he asked her, "'Do you believe this s--t?'"

"Because it's absolutely ridiculous," the Red Table Talk host noted. "It's unfortunate, but you know, we just laughed about it."

E! News has reached out to Duane's reps and Bilal for comment and has not heard back.

Keep reading to revisit Will and Jada's relationship throughout the years.

Stunner in a blue outfit (dress?)! Will and Jada are all smiles at the Devil in a Blue Dress premiere in 1995.

Have you ever seen anything more '90s glam than this? The couple poses together in 1997, the year they got married.

Jada is styling more than just a trendy silver coat in this 1998 red carpet photo: she's showing off her baby bump in a sleek black dress. Jaden Smith was born on July 8, 1998.

Hats off to the couple who never cease to show up on a red carpet in style. Here they are together at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, California in 2005.

Jada ignored the old superstition of never wearing to black to a wedding as she and Will head to Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise's 2006 wedding in Rome, Italy.

The kids are here in London, England with Will and Jada on the red carpet at The Karate Kid premiere in 2010.

Orange you glad to see this picture of Will and Jada together? The happy couple smiles in New York City in 2010.

Willow, Jaden, Will, and Jada Pinkett Smith pose together in a family shot at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2012.

Jada dazzles in green as she and Will arrive at the 73rd Annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in 2016.

Everyone is all smiles for a family vacation after making a quick pit stop at the 2018 World Cup.

Will posts an Instagram tribute to wife Jada, acknowledging that they've been together for "HALF OUR LIVES!"

In 2020, Will and Jada addressed Jada's alleged affair with August Alsina.

Admitting she and August had an "entanglement" while she and Will were separated, she explained, "It was a relationship. I was in a lot of pain and I was very broken. In the process of that relationship I definitely realized you can't find happiness outside of yourself. Luckily enough, you and I were also going through a process of healing in a much different manner."

During the 2022 Academy Awards, Will slapped host Chris Rock over a joke the comedian made about Jada's shaved head. 

After the slap, Will resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences and was banned from its events for 10 years. He also apologized to Chris—calling the slap "unacceptable" and noting "there is no part of me that thinks that was the right way to behave in that moment." 

In Oct. 2023, Jada revealed she and Will have been separated for 7 years, including the six leading up to the 2022 Oscars.

"We're still figuring it out," Jada told People in a profile published Oct. 11. "We've been doing some really heavy-duty work together. We just got deep love for each other and we are going to figure out what that looks like for us."

 

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