Jodie Turner-Smith and Brother Face Civil Lawsuit Over Allegations
Actress Jodie Turner-Smith and her brother face a civil lawsuit filed by three women alleging drug trafficking and sexual assault. Representatives deny the claims as baseless.
British actress Jodie Turner-Smith and her brother, Richard Mark Anthony Smith, are at the center of a civil lawsuit filed by three women who allege that Smith was involved in drug trafficking and forced them into non-consensual sexual activity. Turner-Smith herself is not accused of committing the alleged sexual acts, but the plaintiffs claim she provided her brother with housing, vehicles, and financial support that allowed him to continue his conduct despite allegedly knowing about his actions. A representative for the actress strongly rejected the claims, calling the lawsuit fictitious and baseless.
The lawsuit was filed Thursday in the Los Angeles County Superior Court by three women identified in the documents as Jane Does 1, 2, and 3. According to the complaint, the three women accuse Richard Smith of a series of acts, including sexual assault, false imprisonment, and the infliction of emotional distress. The suit claims the women arrived separately at homes and parties where drugs, weapons, and sexual activity were present, and that Smith pressured them into using drugs and engaging in non-consensual sexual activity. One plaintiff claims that in June 2024 she arrived at a Los Angeles home at Smith's invitation, where she encountered cocaine, weapons, and sexual activity. According to her, he subsequently isolated her in a room, restricted her ability to leave, and pressured her to consume drugs before he and another man attempted to involve her in non-consensual sexual activity.
Another plaintiff claims her relationship with Smith gradually became compulsive and unhealthy, and that he attempted to control her. She alleges she also witnessed drug use and sales, sex parties, and the presence of weapons, stating she was pressured to participate in selling or transporting drugs and to have sex with Smith and other men. The third plaintiff claims Smith offered her housing in exchange for sex, and subsequently forced her into sexual activity while pressuring her to use and sell drugs. The allegations against Turner-Smith differ from those directed at her brother. According to the lawsuit, the 40-year-old actress provided or funded homes, vehicles, and financial assistance for him while allegedly knowing about his conduct. The documents emphasize that the plaintiffs are not seeking to hold her liable merely for being Smith's sister, but for what they define as acts, omissions, knowledge, assistance, resources, and asset-related conduct that allegedly facilitated his continued actions.
One of the women claims Smith himself told her that his sister knew about his drug activity, used cocaine with him, and even helped finance drug purchases. That same woman claims Smith also told her that Turner-Smith paid his bills and funded his lifestyle, and provided him with an Audi car allegedly used to transport packages containing drugs. However, the complaint itself notes that these claims are based on things Smith allegedly told the plaintiff and do not constitute independent evidence that Turner-Smith actually knew about the acts attributed to him. The plaintiffs additionally claim Smith used his sister's name and fame to build trust among women and reduce their concerns. Among other things, the lawsuit states he used to say that in the past he was the one who looked after his sister and now she looks after him and pays his bills.
Turner-Smith is sued among other things on grounds of negligence and assisting the acts attributed to her brother. She is not accused of participating herself in the alleged sexual assaults. A representative for the actress sweepingly denied the matters. This is a fictitious lawsuit filed by someone harassing Jodie while hiding behind the pseudonym Jane Doe, a representative stated, adding that the claims are untrue and represent an abuse of the legal system. Turner-Smith's representatives additionally claim that although the lawsuit was ostensibly filed by three anonymous women, it actually involves a single woman presenting herself as three different plaintiffs—a claim that has also not yet been adjudicated. The three plaintiffs are seeking damages, including punitive damages, alongside additional remedies and legal costs, and requested a jury trial. At this stage these are claims within the framework of a civil lawsuit and they have not yet been proven in court.
Turner-Smith broke through to public awareness in 2019 in the leading role in the film Queen & Slim alongside Daniel Kaluuya, and subsequently starred in After Yang, White Noise, the Star Wars series The Acolyte, and Tron: Ares, as well as portraying Anne Boleyn in the British miniseries of the same name. In recent years she has also made headlines following her separation from Dawson's Creek star Joshua Jackson, whom she met in 2018 and married in 2019. The two share a daughter, Juno, born in 2020. In October 2023, after four years of marriage, Turner-Smith filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences, and the proceedings officially concluded in May 2025. Today the two share joint legal and physical custody of their daughter, although disputes over finances and custody arose between them along the way.
