Will Smith accused of endorsing his wife's death threats

American star Will Smith and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith face new accusations after a former friend of the actor, Bilaal Salaam, said Jada threatened to kill him during an October 2021 phone call in which Will Smith and his friend Charlie Mack took part, in order to stop him publishing a memoir about his relationship with the family. According to the court documents, Bilaal asked Will Smith whether he had heard his wife's threat, and he replied: "I heard what my wife said," which he considered an endorsement of her. He added that he later refused a request from actor Duane Martin to help contain the media crisis after the Chris Rock slap at the Oscars, stressing that he took the alleged threats seriously given the couple's influence and wealth.