Halle Berry accused of child abuse by ex-husband Olivier Martinez
Halle Berry is being accused of abusing her 12-year-old son by her ex-husband, Olivier Martinez.
In a new court filing, viewed by People, USA Today and Variety, Martinez filed for sole custody and a domestic violence restraining order against Berry on Thursday.
Global News has not independently viewed the court documents.
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In the request, Martinez alleged that the 60-year-old actor “physically abused our son, Maceo, by jumping on him, putting her hands around his neck, and choking him,” on Sept. 26, according to USA Today.
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Martinez reportedly claimed that this was not the first time that Berry “has physically attacked our son.”
In a statement to Variety, Berry’s lawyer Marina Beck denied the allegations, saying, “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,” the statement continued.
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“In a way, today’s filing is not entirely unexpected from an individual with a well-documented history of erratic, possessive and violent behavior,” Beck added.
“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,” the statement concluded.
Martinez was granted a temporary restraining order against Berry on Thursday by a Los Angeles County judge, according to People.
The judge also ordered temporarily modified visitation and ruled that partial custody is to be “continued to maintain communication between [Berry] and [Maceo],” the outlet reports.
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For now, Berry’s visitation with her son can reportedly take place on Mondays and Tuesdays between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The temporary restraining order will be in effect until a hearing on Oct. 16.
In his request for a restraining order, Martinez alleged that there have been “other instances of abuse over the course of the last few years. These other incidents involved additional physical attacks against our son, as well as verbal and emotional abuse from Petitioner to me,” Variety reports.
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Berry and Martinez, who first met while making the 2012 film Dark Tide, tied the knot in July 2013. They welcomed their son Maceo three months after their wedding. By October 2015, Martinez and Berry separated after two years of marriage.
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The actors released a joint statement at the time, announcing their divorce a day after Berry filed a divorce petition under a pseudonym.
Martinez filed his own petition after Berry and they both cited irreconcilable differences for their breakup.
“It is with a heavy heart that we have come to the decision to divorce,” the actors wrote in a joint statement. “We move forward with love and respect for one another and the shared focus of what is best for our son. We wish each other nothing but happiness in life and we hope that you respect our and, most importantly, our children’s privacy as we go through this difficult period.”
Their divorce was finalized in August 2023 after an eight-year legal battle. They both agreed to joint legal and physical custody of their son and Berry agreed to pay Martinez $8,000 a month in child support.
—With files from The Associated Press
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