Halle Berry’s ex granted temporary restraining order following allegations of abusing their 12-year-old son
Warning: This article contains discussion of child abuse which some readers may find distressing.
Halle Berry’s ex-husband Olivier Martinez has been granted a temporary restraining order against the actress following serious allegations involving their 12-year-old son.
Berry, 60, and the French actor, 60, were married in 2013 before separating two years later, with their divorce eventually finalised in 2023 following a lengthy legal battle. The former celebrity couple share son Maceo, and have previously found themselves at odds over his care.
Their custody arrangement has now been temporarily changed once again after Martinez filed for a domestic violence restraining order in Los Angeles on Thursday (1 October).
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According to court documents obtained by PEOPLE, Martinez accused the Catwoman star of physically abusing Maceo during an alleged incident at her home.
Martinez alleged that Berry ‘grabbed Maceo by the neck and started choking him while shouting, "Who is dominant now?! Who is dominant?"’
He further alleged that the incident was not isolated, claiming in his filing that Berry had previously been responsible for ‘instances of abuse over the course of the last few years’.
Martinez claimed these included ‘additional physical attacks against [their] son, as well as verbal and emotional abuse’.
Berry has strongly denied the accusations through her attorney Marina Beck, who described the filing as ‘entirely meritless and deliberately misleading’.
In a statement, Beck told PEOPLE: “To say this filing is entirely meritless and deliberately misleading would be an understatement.”
She 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.”
Following Martinez’s petition, a Los Angeles County judge granted a temporary restraining order covering both him and Maceo.
Berry has not been completely barred from seeing her son, however, with the court instead temporarily changing her visitation arrangements.
According to the filing, she is permitted to spend time with Maceo on Mondays and Tuesdays between 10am and 8pm, as well as Saturdays and Sundays during the same hours.
The judge reportedly said the arrangement would allow communication between Berry and her son to continue.
Martinez had also requested that Berry’s sobriety be monitored during her time with Maceo, though the judge rejected that part of his application, citing ‘insufficient information’.
His lawyer, Patrick Baghdaserians, said that the ‘paramount concern is the health, welfare and the safety of the minor child, hence the action that [Martinez] took in court by filing the request for domestic violence restraining order’.
The temporary order is due to remain in place until a hearing on 16 October, when a judge will consider whether the restrictions should continue.
Tyla has reached out to Halle Berry’s representatives for comment.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, contact the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000, 10am-8pm Monday to Friday. If you are a child seeking advice and support, call Childline for free on 0800 1111, 24/7.
Topics: Celebrity, Halle Berry
Ben Williams