Tyrese Gibson Held in Custody After Court Hearing for Underpayment of Child Support
Tyrese Gibson was taken into custody in Atlanta after a contentious child support hearing where a judge ordered him to pay more than $73,000 to his former partner to avoid jail time, according to court records.
The actor appeared in Fulton County Superior Court for the latest hearing in his ongoing battle with ex-wife Samantha Lee, with whom he shares a daughter. Gibson was ordered to pay $10,690 a month in child support in April 2023, but Judge Kevin Farmer held him in contempt over his nonpayment; Gibson was seen being handcuffed in court and then removed by a bailiff; TMZ first reported the news.
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“Mr. Gibson has chosen not to abide by the court’s child support order and was held in willful contempt yesterday for the third time since the conclusion of the divorce trial,” Lee’s attorney, Adam Gleklen, wrote in a statement emailed to The Hollywood Reporter. “Mr. Gibson has only paid the proper child support amount three times in the 25 months since the divorce trial.”
Gleklen added that despite the judge’s decision, Lee had directed him to request to the court that they not incarcerate Gibson and that she “has only ever wanted to effectively co-parent with Tyrese for the benefit of their daughter” and wanted to end the now four years of litigation, so they can each move forward with their lives for the best interest of their daughter.”
Farmer had handed the Fast & Furious actor an opportunity to avoid jail time if he paid $73,525.73 within 48 hours, according to the order for incarceration obtained by The Hollywood Reporter. This includes $7,500 in legal fees paid by Lee. According to TMZ, Gibson had been making a partial $2,200 in child support payments monthly — just under 25 percent of the amount the court ordered in 2022 during another contentious hearing.
TMZ reported that Gibson is arranging to pay the $73,525.73.
On Sunday, Gibson told his Instagram followers that his arrest might be imminent in a post wherein he also attacked Farmer and griped about the fairness of the family court system toward fathers.
“Samantha’s lawyer Adam Gleklen and William Alexander who are besties with the judge Kevin M Farmer [ collusion ],” Gibson wrote in the now-deleted post.
“We are APPEALLING [sic] ALL OF HIS RULINGS AND ALREADY HAVE TRIED TO GET THIS JUDGE THROWN OFF THE BENCH TWICE,” he added on Sunday of Farmer. “The second time we tried to get him recused from the bench. [ He actually denied his own request to be thrown off the bench] …imagine that???”
He added, “It’s pretty clear that they hate my guts, but I must remind them and everything about my life and my success. I’ve worked my ass off since I was 14 years old to get here. #FamilyLawCourts are the WORST TOWARDS FATHERS.”
Gibson and Lee were married in 2017. She filed a complaint for divorce in 2020, and the two later released a joint statement in which they called the split “a painful and significant development in our lives.”
A 2022 hearing where Farmer ordered Gibson to pay $10,690 monthly in child support — which, according to Gleklen, came about because the parties could not resolve the divorce without trial — grew contentious when the actor snapped at one of Lee’s lawyers after he declared that the Baby Boy star had earned more than $2 million the previous year. When Gibson started asking Lee’s attorney a question, Farmer snapped at him, threatening to hold him in contempt of court, then telling him, “You don’t ask questions! That’s not how this works!!”
At that hearing, Farmer also informed Gibson that the $10,690 monthly in child support should have been paid since Lee filed for divorce in 2020, eventually ruling that he owed a back payment of $169,000.
In addition to his daughter with Lee, Gibson has a teenage daughter with his ex-wife Norma Mitchell.
Calls placed by THR to the Fulton County Court were not returned on Monday afternoon.
Moments after Gibson was held in contempt of court and Farmer issued an order of incarceration, his attorney, Tanya Mitchell Graham, filed a notice of intent to appeal the decision. Gibson was released without making the $73,525.73 child support back payment. According to Gleklen, the obligation for the child support is “essentially ‘suspended’ until the court of appeals makes a decision which may include rejecting the request for an appeal.”
Sept. 10, 4:08 p.m. Updated with statements from Gleklen.
Sept. 13, 2:22 p.m.: Updated to adjust some of the language around Monday’s events and to include more information about what happened.
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