Tyrese Gibson says 'arrest' after being found in contempt of court was 'very traumatic'
Tyrese Gibson pushed back Tuesday and Wednesday about his reported arrest in Georgia — he now says he was only detained — after he was held in contempt of court for failing to pay child support.
The "Fast and the Furious" franchise star was taken into custody Monday after Fulton County Superior Court Judge Kevin M. Farmer ordered the actor to pay more than $73,500 to his ex-wife, Samantha Lee, who divorced him in 2020 after three years of marriage.
Gibson was found in "willful contempt" of court for allegedly failing to make child support payments for their 5-year-old daughter, Soraya. (The actor also is father to 17-year-old daughter Shayla, whom he shares with ex-wife Norma Mitchell.) The judgment came during Lee's third motion for contempt hearing, and the judge said that the actor had to be detained until he made the payment, according to court documents reviewed Tuesday by The Times.
"I was detained, not arrested, for less than two hours and released immediately after the great work of my attorney, Tanya Mitchell Graham’s Notice of Intent to Appeal was filed into the Clerk’s Office minutes after the Judge’s ruling," Gibson said Wednesday in a statement to The Times.
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"I have never stopped paying child support; even without a court order, I have always supported both my daughters beyond any court mandate. Although there has been confusion regarding various custody and child support issues, I am currently home and there is no other litigation besides the appeal we filed last year, and the appeal filed yesterday."
Gibson said he would be staying off social media for the time being. He also cited a decade's worth of work on behalf of parents navigating child support, saying that his personal experience has "highlighted the flaws in the system, demonstrating the urgent need for reform."
"Many fathers and mothers, including myself, face significant biases in the family court system," he added. "Men striving to be present fathers are often penalized rather than supported. This is a significant issue in Black and Brown communities, and I deeply sympathize with those navigating this system without financial resources. Court biases can lead to unfair outcomes, widening the justice gap we see today."
TMZ reported Tuesday that after Gibson was found in contempt of court, a bailiff put him in handcuffs and marched him out of the courtroom. The New York Post said Gibson was detained and later released after failing to pay his $10,000 court-ordered monthly child support.
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The "Sweet Lady" singer was released from custody, TMZ said, after his attorney Tanya Mitchell Graham filed an appeal. The appeal bought the actor some time and did not require the payment of back child support before he was released. His attorney filed a similar appeal in April 2023, during the former couple's contentious divorce battle, when Gibson was first ordered to pay child support, the outlet said.
The "Morbius" star addressed the arrest Tuesday on his Instagram Stories, writing, "Getting arrested wasn't fun as a matter of fact it was very traumatic... One would ask why does this judge Kevin M. Farmer HATE me so much?" He added a second story that targeted his ex-wife's attorney and said that "getting arrested wasn't easy."
Gibson also included Google Drive links to appeal documents dated May 13, 2024, describing the appeal as a "nightmare" for the judge. Though it was unclear if the documents had been filed in court, they listed three "key issues and arguments" that the appeal was based on and characterized the child support demand as "over-reaching and punitive."
Gibson's attorneys, Graham and Beverly L. Cohen, first argued that an arbitrator in the couple's divorce case found that Gibson and Lee's premarital agreement was valid but somehow invalidated a portion of it that dealt with attorneys' fees. (Lee is seeking $7,500 in attorney fees.)
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Second, his attorneys said that Gibson "has been voluntarily financially supporting" Soraya since birth and during the divorce case "at the highest Basic Child Support Obligation." His attorneys argued that the court awarding a retroactive, lump-sum child support payment "will undoubtedly send a chilling effect to other divorcees who voluntarily financially support their minor child(ren) during a divorce proceeding without the need of a temporary hearing and temporary court order."
Lastly, they argued that Gibson was "de facto" paying spousal support by awarding Lee child support with a high-income deviation, which allowed her to buy a house, work less and cover 50% of their child's school tuition. (The document said, "The trial court found that alimony was not warranted.")
"Instead of applauding the Appellant [Gibson] for doing what he was supposed to do voluntarily by financially supporting the minor child without court intervention, the Appellant was punished for doing what was right," the document said.
The attorneys did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
On Sunday, Gibson took to Instagram and called his ex's legal maneuvering "goofy" and insisted that he is innocent because their prenup allegedly covered everything involved in their 2020 divorce. He also posted about the meaning of being a father in a series of posts before and after his detainment.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
