Jada Pinkett Smith Wins $32,836 Legal Fee Award in Court

Jada Pinkett Smith won a court order requiring Bilaal Salaam to pay $32,836 in legal fees after parts of his claims against her were dismissed. The ruling gives Pinkett Smith a financial win in a dispute that had already moved through a failed restraining-order bid and a separate damages demand.

Jada Pinkett Smith and Bilaal Salaam

Bilaal Salaam sued her for $3 million in damages and said the dispute grew out of allegations tied to a private birthday gathering for Will Smith’s 53rd birthday in a Calabasas movie theater. Pinkett Smith denied wrongdoing and pushed to have the claims against her dismissed, setting up the fee award that followed.

The court did not go as far as Pinkett Smith first asked. She initially sought $49,181 in legal fees, but the judge ordered Salaam to pay $32,836 after she successfully persuaded the court to dismiss some of his claims.

February and April Filings

In February, Salaam lost his bid for a restraining order against Pinkett Smith after a judge concluded there was insufficient evidence for a permanent order. He had sought to bar her from coming within 100 yards of him or harassing him, a more aggressive remedy than the fee dispute now on the table.

By April, Salaam had filed new allegations, saying the publicity from the legal fight caused him emotional distress and weight gain, and that the weight gain cost him a romantic relationship. He also claimed Pinkett Smith had warned him to “end up missing or catch a bullet” and accused her of becoming “verbally aggressive,” allegations that did not stop the court from shifting part of the bill back to him.

For Pinkett Smith, the immediate result is straightforward: she turned a $3 million complaint into a fee award in her favor, while Salaam is left paying for part of the case he brought. In a dispute built on personal claims and escalating filings, the money now runs the other direction.