Tyrese Gibson detained for unpaid child support in ongoing battle with ex-wife
Tyrese Gibson’s ongoing child support debacle got a little fast and furious in a Georgia court Monday.
The actor and singer, 45, was “temporarily detained” and has since been “released” after being held in contempt of court, the Fulton County Public Information Officer tells The Post. The director of communications at the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Gibson is not in custody.
The incident was the latest courtroom drama Gibson has had with his ex-wife, Samantha Lee, over child support for their 5-year-old daughter, Soraya.
Gibson reportedly squared off with the judge for refusing to pay $10,000 per month in child support.
Judge Kevin Farmer ordered Gibson to pay the monthly amount in April 2023. When it became clear in Monday’s hearing that Gibson had not paid, Farmer held him in contempt, and he was escorted out of the courtroom in handcuffs by a bailiff, according to TMZ.
The judge reportedly told Gibson that he could avoid jail time if he paid $73,000, including $7,500 for his ex-wife’s attorney fees, TMZ added.
After the “Fast and Furious” actor was detained, reporter Dennis Byron posted on X from the courtroom that the star “found the money” to pay his ex-wife.
“Update! Tyrese has miraculously found the money he owes to his ex-wife Samantha Gibson and is arranging for it to be paid right now,” he wrote. “He will likely be home for dinner.”
Byron also claimed that the judge requested everyone to turn off their phones at a point during the hearing. He alleged that Gibson had been taking pictures of his ex-wife in court.
https://x.com/mrdennisbyron/status/1833199553236848753?s=46&t=E3tWuA4RUFMJ1taNKoz2BQ
Hours before the hearing, Gibson posted photos with his children on Instagram.
In the caption, he wrote, “The love that a father can have for his children can’t quite be explained……. Whatever the outcome is today…… I am and will forever be their FATHER………”
Gibson, however, has been making some child support payments — just not the amount Farmer ordered. As of last year, he was paying his ex about $2,200 every month.
Monday’s showdown between Gibson and Farmer was not their first. The pair had a contentious face-off in court in 2022.
On Sunday night, Gibson posted on social media that he thought he might get arrested in court Monday.
In a lengthy statement, which Gibson has since deleted, the actor claimed Farmer and his ex-wife were colluding against him.
“We are APPEALLING (sic) ALL OF HIS RULINGS AND ALREADY HAVE TRIED TO GET THIS JUDGE THROWN OFF THE BENCH TWICE,” he shared. “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???”
Gibson continued to accuse Farmer of “illegally” going against his and Samantha’s prenup and increasing his child support payments, upping them from $3,600 per month to $10,690 per month just because the judge “felt like it.”
“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,” he stated.
“#FamilyLawCourts are the WORST TOWARDS FATHERS.”
Gibson also posted a 15-minute video on Instagram Sunday, in which he suggested that gender is playing a role in how the legal system is treating him.
“When you were born a man, you go into a courtroom and you understand clearly that there is a preset menu that says, ‘You were born a man, f–k you.’ That’s what the preset menu says,” Gibson said.
He continued, “I’ve been laughing, smiling, having fun doing my interviews. My vibrations and my energy has been up and I’ve been over here silently and quietly in a certain capacity fighting these attacks.”
The star claimed that Samantha’s legal team has been violating a “detailed and specific” prenuptial agreement they had before their 2017 wedding and going after his current financial records and assets.
“Why does Samantha’s lawyers just request all of my bank statements? Why are they sending screenshots of my IMDB page?” he asked. “Leave me the –ck alone, man. I did a prenuptial agreement for a reason.”
Gibson and Samantha welcomed their daughter Soraya in 2018. They announced their divorce in 2020.
The actor has another daughter, Shayla, 17, with his first ex-wife Norma Mitchell.
After the pair divorced in 2009 following their two-year marriage, Gibson also had drama with Mitchell.
In May, Mitchell filed a temporary restraining order against her ex and sued him for defamation over a series of what she called “harassing posts” that she alleged divulged private information about their daughter.
The Post has reached out to reps for Gibson.
