Halle Berry accused of child abuse by ex-husband Olivier Martinez, who seeks restraining order
Halle Berry has been accused of physically abusing her 12-year-old son by her ex-husband, actor Olivier Martinez, who has filed a petition seeking a temporary restraining order against the actress and sole custody of their son.
In the filing, Martinez alleges that on Sept. 26, Berry “physically abused our son Maceo, by jumping on him, putting her hands around his neck, and choking him.”
Martinez is seeking sole custody, which would change the former couple’s current custody arrangement. Berry’s attorney Marina Beck rejected the allegations and called the filing “entirely meritless and deliberately misleading.”
“To say this filing is entirely meritless and deliberately misleading would be an understatement. There is voluminous evidence, including numerous judicial rulings, that Olivier Martinez repeatedly violated court orders and interfered with necessary therapeutic and educational interventions to the detriment of his and Halle Berry’s minor son Maceo, misconduct for which Mr Martinez has already been legally sanctioned,” Beck said in a statement.
Beck further alleged that Martinez has a history of problematic conduct, saying, “In a way, today’s filing is not entirely unexpected from an individual with a well-documented history of erratic, possessive and violent behaviour.”
“Fortunately, Halle is used to this kind of outrageous conduct from Mr. Martinez and, while she is deeply saddened, she will not allow it to deter her from fighting for Maceo’s best interests and providing him with the love and support he needs,” she added.
In his request for a restraining order, Martinez also alleged there had been “other instances of abuse over the course of the last few years.”
He said the alleged incidents included “additional physical attacks against our son, as well as verbal and emotional abuse from Petitioner to me.”
Martinez cited an alleged incident in which he said Berry told their son that he was “a white bitch trying to rob a Black woman” because of child support issues. He further alleged that Berry then asked their son, “How do you feel about that as a Black man?”
According to Martinez’s filing, Berry later texted him to apologize over the incident.
“I do not want to permanently sever the relationship between our son and (Berry), but I do not believe that they should be interacting with each other until Petitioner can take sufficient accountability for her actions,” Martinez wrote in the filing.
Martinez also asked the court to order Berry not to be under the influence of alcohol or other substances while having visitation with their son.
“I believe he may be traumatised by the incident” and does not want to spend time at her house, Martinez said in the filing.
Berry and Martinez filed for divorce in 2015 after being married for two years. Berry also has an 18-year-old daughter from a previous relationship.
Representatives for Berry did not respond to a request for comment, according to Variety.
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