Ceaser Emanuel of 'Black Ink Crew' Speaks on Filing a Lawsuit Against His Baby Mama Crystal (EXCLUSIVE)

Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers for Season 9 of Black Ink Crew.

In case you’ve been MIA, Black Ink Crew: New York Season 9 has officially returned to the small screen. The first half of the season left us all pondering about in-house stealing, troubles among crew members, and rifts between family.

With a focus on entrepreneur Ceaser Emanuel and his team of talented artists, the show is back to showcase the crew at their flagship location in Brooklyn — and the drama is at an all-time high. As for Ceaser, he has found himself at the center of it all thanks to his ongoing dispute with his baby mama, Crystal Torres.

Longtime viewers are aware of the ups and downs Crystal and Ceaser have gone through in their co-parenting relationship, raising their daughter Cheyenne. However, things have worsened with ongoing allegations of child abuse.

In true Ceaser fashion, setting the record straight is a top priority. And with the decision to file a defamation lawsuit against Crystal, Ceaser feels that he has no choice. In an exclusive interview with Distractify, Ceaser shared why it was important to take the legal route and where things stand now.

After months of dealing with accusations of child abuse, Ceaser has finally decided to put a stop to the allegations. In January 2021, Cheyenne went on Instagram Live and claimed that Ceaser physically assaulted her while she was living with him and his girlfriend, Suzette, in Atlanta.

In the video, she claimed that the star “put his hands and feet on her” and that he also “stomped her out” while she was in the shower.

“I’m here to speak my truth,” Cheyenne said. “He knows what he has done. The police were called. There are records.”

At the time, we saw this play out in the first-half of Black Ink Crew: New York Season 9. However, Ceaser has now upped the ante with a defamation lawsuit against Crystal and a press conference, since there is documentation that shares that this incident never took place.

“I've been waiting for somebody to ask me these questions,” Ceaser exclusively told Distractify. "I have nothing to hide. I’m not one of these other celebrities. If I had put my hands on my child, I would have said that and dealt with the consequences. There are documented reports that specify that this never happened.”

In his eyes, this whole thing seems fishy since he has been paying child support. Because Cheyenne is approaching her 18th birthday, Ceasar feels that Crystal is fighting for more child support.

Ceaser continued, “[Cheyenne] turns 18 on April 4th, and you want child support for three more years until she turns 21. So, who am I actually supporting here? This plot gets thicker and thicker, and it seems like [Crystal] did all this for more money.”

Ceaser went on to share that Cheyenne was being coached by Crystal to accuse him of abuse.

“If you watch the whole thing, her mother is in the background coaching her,” Ceaser told us. “So how do you sit there as a parent, knowing that we’re co-parenting, and say those things. You don’t think that looks crazy on both of our ends?"

As Jay-Z eloquently said, “Nobody wins when the family feuds.” In light of the abuse claims and lawsuit, it appears that Ceaser and Crystal have yet to come to an understanding. Unfortunately, this has taken a toll on his relationship with Cheyenne.

“My daughter is the closest thing I had ... and everybody knows that,” Ceaser exclusively told Distractify. “So when it comes down to it, I had to go through other people's experiences in life, and see what their family did, to understand where I was going with this. Hopefully, time will heal everything and we can reconcile.”

Ceaser went to explain that this is nothing more than a smear campaign to get more money out of him.

Additionally, Ceaser’s decision to file a lawsuit has caused issues between himself and his cousin, Teddy. In a teaser for Season 9, Episode 12, Teddy, who was supposed to be present for the press conference, was nowhere to be found. He later spoke with Ceaser about his decision to bow out.

“At the end of the day, I can’t stand next to my brother while he’s doing that s--t,” Ted said to Ceaser in the clip.

“I can’t stop feeling like this is just another betrayal,” Ceaser responded in a confessional.

Will Ceaser, Cheyenne, and Crystal be able to bring their family back together? Will Ceaser and Teddy be able to look past their differences in regards to the lawsuit? Only time will tell.

Catch new episodes of Black Ink Crew: New York Mondays at 8 p.m. EST on VH1.