The ongoing debate over Tyrese Gibson’s child support resulted in heated arguments in a court in the US state of Georgia on Monday.
The 45-year-old actor and singer was “temporarily detained” and has since been “released” after being held for contempt of court, the Fulton County public information officer told the Post. The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office communications director confirmed that Gibson is not in custody.
The incident was the latest court drama between Gibson and his ex-wife Samantha Lee over child support for their five-year-old daughter Soraya.
Gibson reportedly got into an argument with the judge over his refusal to pay $10,000 a month in child support.
Judge Kevin Farmer ordered Gibson to pay the monthly amount in April 2023. When it became clear at Monday’s hearing that Gibson had not paid, Farmer accused him of contempt of court and had a bailiff lead him out of the courtroom in handcuffs, according to TMZ.
The judge reportedly told Gibson that he could avoid prison if he paid $73,000, including $7,500 for his ex-wife’s legal fees, TMZ added.
After the “Fast and Furious” actor was arrested, reporter Dennis Byron posted on X from the courtroom that the star had “found the money” to pay his ex-wife.
“Update! Tyrese has miraculously found the money he owes his ex-wife Samantha Gibson and is currently arranging payment,” he wrote. “He will probably be home for dinner.”
Byron also claimed that during the hearing, the judge asked everyone to turn off their phones. He claimed that Gibson took photos of his ex-wife in the courtroom.
Hours before the hearing, Gibson posted photos with his children on Instagram.
In the caption, he wrote: “The love a father can feel for his children cannot be fully explained…. Whatever happens today… I am and will forever be their FATHER……”
Gibson did, however, pay some alimony – though not the amount Farmer demanded. Last year, he paid his ex about $2,200 a month.
Monday’s showdown between Gibson and Farmer was not their first. The pair had a contentious court battle in 2022.
On Sunday evening, Gibson posted on social media that he feared he would be arrested in court on Monday.
In a lengthy statement, which Gibson has since deleted, the actor claimed that Farmer and his ex-wife had conspired against him.
“We are appealing all of his rulings and have already tried to remove this judge from office twice,” he said. “The second time we tried to remove him from office. (He actually denied his own motion to remove him from office) … imagine that???”
Gibson further accused Farmer of “illegally” violating his prenuptial agreement with Samantha and increasing his alimony payments from $3,600 a month to $10,690 just because the judge “felt like it.”
“It’s pretty clear they hate me, but I have to remind them everything about my life and my success. I’ve been working my ass off since I was 14 to get here,” he explained.
“Family courts are the WORST thing for fathers.”
Gibson also posted a 15-minute video on Instagram on Sunday in which he suggested that his gender plays a role in how the legal system treats him.
“If you were born a man and you walk into a courtroom, you realize there’s a preset menu that says, ‘You were born a man, f–k you.’ That’s on the preset menu,” Gibson said.
He continued, “I was laughing, smiling and having fun during my interviews. My vibrations and energy were high and I was here, quietly and silently, and in a way I was fighting these attacks.”
The star claimed that Samantha’s lawyers violated a “detailed and specific” prenuptial agreement they made before their 2017 wedding and that they were targeting his current financial records and assets.
“Why do Samantha’s lawyers just ask for all my bank statements? Why are they sending screenshots of my IMDB page?” he asked. “Leave me alone, man. I signed a prenup for a reason.”
Gibson and Samantha welcomed their daughter Soraya in 2018. In 2020, they announced their divorce.
The actor has another daughter, 17-year-old Shayla, with his first ex-wife Norma Mitchell.
After the couple divorced in 2009 after two years of marriage, there was also drama between Gibson and Mitchell.
In May, Mitchell filed for a restraining order against her ex and sued him for defamation over a series of “harassing posts” in which he allegedly revealed private information about their daughter.
The Post has contacted representatives of Gibson.
