Halle Berry's ex-husband accused her of assaulting their teenage son.
She has dismissed his allegations and asked for 50/50 custody.
The couple's divorce was finalised in 2023.
Halle Berry has rejected allegations from her former husband, Olivier Martinez, accusing her of abusing their 13-year-old son, Maceo. On Thursday, Oct. 1, news broke that Martinez filed a restraining order against Berry, accusing her of physically abusing their son Maceo by jumping on him, putting her hands around his neck and choking him. Martinez requested sole custody of Maceo and asked for a no-contact order from Berry for both himself and their son. The couple's divorce was finalised in 2023. The Oscar-winning actress has now issued a lengthy statement, rubbishing his allegations.
In a declaration filed on Monday, Oct. 5, Berry stated, “I have never physically, emotionally, or otherwise abused Maceo. I am a victim of domestic violence, and I help victims of domestic violence.”
“The fourth concern is Olivier’s continued attempts to align Maceo with him and against me in many areas of our child’s life and activities which causes Maceo to be angry with me about private issues relating to Maceo which Olivier and I were discussing at the time,” Berry suggested.
Halle Berry's Pushback To Child Assault Allegations
“When Maceo would come home from his custodial time with Olivier, he would be angry and combative. It took Maceo 2-3 days to acclimate to being at home and when he would go back to Olivier, the cycle would start all over again,” she alleged in the documents. “I also perceived Maceo to repeat disputes that Olivier and I discuss in private and take Olivier’s side/position in that dispute.”
“If the dispute related to a decision regarding Maceo (for example, about soccer, school, or therapy), Maceo knew about it before Olivier and I reached a decision with respect to a particular issue and would tell me what he and Olivier are going to do (without my input) completely disregarding my authority as his mother,” continued Berry.
She underlined, “I am not a perpetrator of violence. I would never hurt our child.” Berry has vocerifously rebutted his claim and submitted video evidence that she claims “directly contradicts” his account, along with messages between the two. “My text messages to Olivier reflect my distress after Maceo became physically aggressive toward me, not any physical conduct by me toward Maceo,” she wrote.
Berry’s attorney also shared a statement, dismissing the accusations, "To say this filing is entirely meritless and deliberately misleading would be an understatement". It also alleged that Martinez had repeatedly “violated court orders and interfered with therapeutic and educational interventions” when it comes to Maceo.
