Jada Pinkett Smith's attorneys have asked a Los Angeles court to order a psychological examination of Bilaal Salaam, the former friend of Will Smith who is pursuing a $3 million emotional distress lawsuit against her. The request, if granted, would require Salaam to sit for a five-to-six-hour evaluation with a psychiatrist as the long-running case heads toward a November hearing.
According to TheGrio, Pinkett Smith's lawyers argue that Salaam placed his own mental and physical condition at the center of the lawsuit by alleging that her conduct caused him serious emotional and personal consequences. Her legal team wants an independent evaluation to test the extent and basis of those claims, the outlet reports. A hearing on the request is scheduled for November 9 in California.
Salaam sued Pinkett Smith in late 2025, alleging intentional infliction of emotional distress stemming from a confrontation he says occurred in 2021. Per the same account, Salaam claimed Pinkett Smith threatened him after he discussed private matters involving the Smith family, and he further alleged that people connected to her and Will Smith retaliated against him afterward. Pinkett Smith has denied the allegations, the report notes.
Claims of Fear, Lost Relationships and Physical Decline
Salaam has alleged that the fallout forced him to live outside the United States for an extended period out of fear, cost him a long-term relationship, and damaged his physical health, according to TMZ. In court documents detailed in October 2026, he claimed the conduct caused him to develop high blood pressure, suffer a 100-pound weight gain, and experience post-traumatic stress, as reported by EURweb. Those specific medical claims are what Pinkett Smith's legal team is now challenging through the examination motion, arguing they put his physical and mental health directly at issue.
The origin of Salaam's claims traces back further. In court documents filed in November 2025, Salaam alleged that actor Duane Martin contacted him after the 2022 Academy Awards slap on behalf of Will and Jada Pinkett Smith to handle crisis management, according to SWNS. Salaam claimed that retaliatory harassment began only after he refused tasks he believed were unethical or illegal, which he says forced him to suspend a $500,000 memoir.
A Legal Standard Rooted in Good Cause
Any order compelling the exam would have to clear a specific statutory bar. Under California Code of Civil Procedure Section 2032.320, a state court may grant a motion for a mental examination only upon a showing of good cause, and the order must explicitly specify the diagnostic tests, procedures, scope, and examiner, according to Justia Law.
The same statute offers Salaam a potential way out. A judge cannot order the exam if a plaintiff stipulates that he makes no claim for emotional distress beyond what normally accompanies physical injuries and will present no expert psychiatric testimony at trial, Justia Law notes. Whether Salaam will make that stipulation, or whether the court will instead find good cause to compel the evaluation, remains to be seen ahead of the November hearing.
A String of Setbacks Preceded the Exam Request
The examination motion arrives after a string of rulings that have largely favored Pinkett Smith. In February 2026, a Los Angeles judge dismissed Salaam's petition seeking a permanent 100-yard restraining order against her, ruling that he failed to present sufficient evidence of harassment or immediate threat, as reported by HotNewHipHop. Salaam had claimed severe anxiety and fear compelled him to temporarily live overseas.
A Los Angeles judge also granted part of Pinkett Smith's anti-SLAPP motion, striking several claims involving cease-and-desist letters and public statements and, in May 2026, ordering Salaam to pay $32,836 in legal fees, per Reality Tea's coverage of the ruling. That fee award stemmed from her motion requesting more than $49,000 following the initial dismissal of several claims. By June 2026, Salaam had petitioned the court to reduce or restructure those fees, stating in court papers that he was broke, homeless, and relying on welfare benefits, according to TMZ.
Attempts to Pull Will Smith Into the Case
Salaam has also tried to widen the lawsuit's reach. In August 2026, he filed a motion seeking permission to add Will Smith as a co-defendant, alleging Will verbally supported Jada during an October 2021 call in which she allegedly threatened his life, according to Complex. TheGrio reports that a judge ultimately denied the attempt to amend the complaint in August 2026, finding the request untimely, and that the current lawsuit remains centered on claims against Jada Pinkett Smith alone, even as Salaam has sought testimony from Will Smith.
The family's legal entanglements with Salaam have also spread beyond Jada. Will Smith's ex-wife, Sheree Zampino, filed a separate $1 million defamation and emotional distress lawsuit against Salaam in Los Angeles County Superior Court in May 2026, according to TMZ, accusing him of making humiliating and false statements about her sex life during a YouTube interview on the Unwine With Tasha K platform.
Meanwhile, the underlying case has moved forward with Salaam representing himself. Court documents filed in September 2026 show Salaam is proceeding pro se in Van Nuys Superior Court, where he requested court intervention after Pinkett Smith's attorneys resisted scheduling her deposition before other discovery took place, according to MyNewsLA.com. Salaam argued the delays had caused ongoing prejudice to his case, the outlet reported.
If approved, the psychological evaluation would function as a procedural step rather than a ruling on the truth of Salaam's allegations, per TheGrio's reporting. The underlying claims remain disputed, and it will be up to the court to determine which allegations can proceed and what evidence will ultimately be allowed at trial.
