Halle Berry is firing back amid her ongoing custody battle against Olivier Martinez, claiming that her ex has tried to turn their 13-year-old son, Maceo, against her.
On Thursday, October 1, it was reported that Martinez, 60, obtained a temporary domestic violence restraining order against Berry, 60, on behalf of himself and their son. He also sought to temporarily change his and Berry’s 50-50 custody agreement to a “no contact order” that blocks his ex-wife from communicating with Maceo until a court hearing can take place.
At the heart of their latest dispute is an incident that Martinez claimed took place on September 26. Maceo allegedly placed a desperate call to his father, asking to be picked up from Berry’s home. Per a legal filing in Los Angeles Superior Court, obtained by Us, Martinez’s lawyers allege that the boy was “physically attacked” and “choked” by his mother during an argument.
Berry is now attempting to counter Martinez’s restraining order, which she claims barred her from communicating to Maceo on Monday, October 5 — the child’s 13th birthday. The star has subsequently requested that a court reinstate the previous 50/50 custody agreement.
“This case is not about domestic violence. This is a case about a mother’s unwavering love for her son, her relentless fight for his success, and her continued efforts to implement critical interventions for his well-being over the constant interference and obstruction of a father unable to separate his own self-serving interests from the best interests of the minor child,” her lawyers wrote in documents obtained by Us.
The actress’ legal rep continued, “Rather than focus on Maceo’s urgent needs, Olivier has once again resorted to allegations that divert attention away from the very interventions the Court previously found he was obstructing after which Olivier was sanctioned.”
Berry’s legal team claimed that the “outrageous, false, and misleading” allegations in the French actor’s temporary restraining order petition blocked her “from calling, texting, or otherwise contacting Maceo to wish him a ‘Happy Birthday'” unless she saw him in person.
“The harm resulting from these orders extends well beyond a missed birthday. Halle is fighting to preserve her relationship with Maceo at a critical juncture in his development,” her attorneys insisted. “Every day that these restrictions remain in place increases the risk of irreparable damage to that relationship and reinforces the false narrative that Halle did something wrong – which she did not as confirmed by video evidence and witness accounts. At the same time, the orders prevent Halle from effectively exercising the very decision-making authority previously awarded to her by the Court regarding Maceo’s mental health and educational needs, including implementation of recommendations made by Maceo’s school that Olivier continues to oppose.”
Berry suggested her former spouse’s restraining order request was part of his attempt to turn their son against her. Additionally, she accused her ex of refusing “to provide Halle with make-up [visitation] time” as well as “continued unilateral decision making for Maceo” and “withholding information from Halle relating to Maceo.”
According to Berry, Martinez has allegedly interfered “with Maceo’s therapy” and has refused “to follow Maceo’s therapist’s recommendations.”
Her filing stipulates that Berry is not trying to “expand her rights or alter the status quo” beyond the former couple’s 2023 custody agreement. She asked a Superior Court of California judge to restore “enforcement of the existing order” that grants her “tie-breaking authority over Maceo’s mental health and educational decisions” and established a “longstanding 2-2-5 physical custody schedule.” (Berry’s lawyers accused Martinez of leaving key information about her “tie-breaking authority” on Maceo’s care out of his own petition.)
Berry’s claims differ from Martinez’s September 26 allegations. In his court petition, Martinez claimed that Maceo was “panicking” and that he heard Berry “still yelling at him in the background” during their phone call.
“When I arrived [Berry] did not come out of the home but [her] partner assisted our son in carrying his bags to my car,” Martinez claimed in his legal declaration.
Martinez suggested his son was “traumatized” by the alleged incident and did “not want to spend time” at Berry’s house. He alleged that Berry has previously put Maceo in “choke holds” while training in “mixed martial arts.”
The Oscar-winning actress’s attorney Marina Beck previously called Martinez’s allegations “entirely meritless and deliberately misleading” in a statement to Us.
Berry countered her ex’s narrative in Monday’s court documents, insisting that she had “video evidence, witness testimony, documentary evidence, and the parties’ subsequent conduct” to prove him wrong.
“Context matters here because it exposes the strategic and duplicitous nature of Olivier’s application,” her lawyers wrote in court documents. “The DVRO process exists to protect genuine victims facing imminent harm, not to provide litigants with a tactical advantage in ongoing custody disputes. At the very moment Halle was preparing to enforce orders that Olivier was violating, including orders granting her tie-breaking authority over Maceo’s mental health and educational needs, Olivier retained his fourth attorney and, one day later, the alleged incident coincidentally occurred.”
Berry outright denied Martinez’s previous characterization of alleged physical abuse.
“As we frequently do, Maceo and I then began playfully roughhousing. I put my arms around his waist, in an attempt to get my phone back and we engaged in the same type of playful wrestling that has occurred countless times before without incident. Given Maceo’s neurodivergence issues, he is quite active and really likes this kind of wrestle play, which he often initiates,” she wrote in a court declaration. “As we played, I never place[d] my hands around Maceo’s neck, I never choked him, never restrained his breathing, never told him to tap out, or yell, ‘Who is dominant now?’ as Olivier, who was not there, falsely claims. After the playfulness ended, Maceo unexpectedly became upset and aggressively pushed me, which he had never done before.”
Berry accused Martinez of “quietly prepar[ing] in the shadows for a no-notice application” rather than “communicate concerns, seek cooperation, or pursue a transparent resolution.”
“Olivier and his newly retained counsel quietly prepared in the shadows for a no-notice application while continuing to allow Maceo to remain in Halle’s care,” Berry’s legal team alleged. “The timing, omissions, and surrounding circumstances underscore that this filing was not driven by an urgent concern for Maceo’s safety, but by a desire to preempt Halle’s enforcement efforts, evade scrutiny of Olivier’s noncompliance, and gain a strategic advantage in the parties’ ongoing dispute regarding Maceo’s care. More custody of Maceo is also a way for willfully unemployed Olivier to extract more money from Halle for child support which Olivier uses to support himself.”
Entertainment Weekly reported that Martinez immediately counterfiled a response with the court, asking for Berry’s requests to be dismissed.
Us has reached out to representatives for both Berry and Martinez for comment.
The former couple’s next hearing is scheduled for Friday, October 16, to address both parties’ accusations.
Berry and Martinez dated for three years before marrying in 2013. Following their split in August 2015, they spent the better part of eight years battling over custody arrangements before their divorce was finalized in August 2023. (Berry also shares an 18-year-old daughter, Nahla Ariela Aubry, with ex Gabriel Aubry.)
