Halle Berry Has to Pay Her Ex $16K a Month in Child Support and She Says It's 'Extortion'
Published Feb. 11 2021, 6:58 p.m. ET
Despite her successful career as a thespian and her newfound role as our favorite fitness guru on Instagram, there’s one skill that Halle Berry hasn’t quite mastered, and according to a recent post on Instagram, it’s the art of co-parenting.
After a breakup with her ex-partner of five years, Gabriel Aubry, the actress has been entangled in a very public, ongoing custody battle, which has been no walk in the park for Halle. After venting on Instagram about the ongoing battle with Gabriel over their daughter, Nahla, fans are wondering: Why is Halle Berry paying child support and why is the rate so high?
Why is Halle Berry paying child support?
In a series of comments, Halle Berry shared her views on child support, which, apparently, was shade towards her ex-boyfriend and father of her two children, Gabriel. In 2014, the Los Angeles Superior Court ruled that Halle would pay her ex $16,000 monthly, along with a $115,000 retroactive child support payment and legal fees — a decision that was partly made based on the former couple’s salaries.
Halle and Gabriel split three years prior to the court order, and according to Halle, he has been reaping the benefits of her celebrity ever since. She wrote on Instagram, "I'm not going to speak on alimony as I have never asked for it nor have I ever paid it. However, as for child support, I feel I can speak on it as I've been paying it for a decade now. I feel if a woman or man is having to pay child support that is way more than the reasonable needs to help SUPPORT the child, I think that is wrong.”
Halle went on to say that she empathizes with men and women who need help through trying times, but she refuses to excuse parents from their financial responsibility altogether. Halle explained, “I understand some parents (man or woman) may need help, but I also feel that in these modern times both men and women have the responsibility to financially take care of their children and work hard and make every effort to do so."
"The way many laws are set up people are allowed to USE children in order to be awarded money to live a lifestyle that not only they did not earn but that is way above and beyond the child's reasonable needs, and that is 'THE WRONG' and where I see the abuse. The laws are outdated and no longer reflect the modern world. This is just my opinion, I clearly don't own the truth. I can say I'm living it every day and I can tell you it's hard," Halle concluded.
According to court documents, the reason why Halle is playing child support (and why it's so high) comes down to her income compared to Gabriel's. Halle's reported gross income for the nine months leading up to Sept. 30, 2012 was nearly $4.7 million. Gabriel totaled $192,921 for the 12 months ending in Oct. 31, 2012.
Does Halle Berry have custody of her daughter, Nahla?
In the past, Halle went as far as trying to restrict visitation between Gabriel and their daughter, and even attempted to move her children to France to be with her then-boyfriend, Oliver Martinez. After taking their custody battle to court, Halle and Gabriel were granted joint custody of their daughter, Nahla. Halle and her ex Oliver also share a son, Maceo Martinez.