Halle Berry and Olivier Martinez’s big custody hearing will happen today. Ahead of the hearing, Halle and Olivier have been lobbing accusations, filings and declarations at each other, all regarding an alleged incident in late September. According to Olivier, Halle assaulted their son Maceo and insulted Olivier to Maceo. According to Halle, nothing happened but a minor disagreement, with nothing physical occurring. Earlier this week, we heard that Olivier wants Maceo – who just turned 13 years old – to testify in court about the incident and where Maceo wants to live. Halle tried to block Maceo from testifying, but the court will allow it.
Halle Berry’s son will be allowed to testify in her custody battle with ex Olivier Martinez. According to court documents obtained by PEOPLE, Berry and Martinez’s son Maceo, 13, will testify in his parents’ custody trial, per a court order by the judge. TMZ was first to report the news.
Although Maceo will be allowed to testify, his testimony will be “limited to the request for an issuance of a restraining order.” Martinez, 60, is pursuing a restraining order against Berry, 60, for himself and Maceo after the actress allegedly physically abused their son. He was granted a temporary restraining order earlier this month. Reps for both Berry and Martinez didn’t immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Earlier this week, Berry objected to her son Maceo testifying in court during the former couple’s upcoming custody hearings. She claimed that Martinez was dismissing statements from other key eyewitnesses, including her daughter Nahla Ariela, 18, and her fiancé Van Hunt, who were physically present at the time of the alleged Sept. 26 incident.
“Rather than welcome testimony from these witnesses with direct personal knowledge, Olivier dismisses their observations while elevating the testimony of a neurodivergent 13-year-old child who has spent the last two weeks primarily in Olivier’s care and with whom Olivier admittedly has been discussing the allegations, the litigation, and his anticipated testimony,” she said.
Berry went on to caution the court against placing “substantial weight” on the testimony of her teenage son, who she described as being a “coached and manipulated child.”
In other court documents obtained by PEOPLE, Martinez said that Maceo wants to address the court “to provide his side of the story.” He explained that Maceo wants to openly discuss his custody preferences and the alleged incident from September.
“He should have the opportunity to have his voice heard regarding what he experienced that night,” Martinez wrote in his declaration. “If he is prevented from addressing the Court regarding these allegations, I fear that he would be dissuaded from reporting problems or potential abuse in the future.”
Martinez went on to say that he anticipated that Berry would try “to prevent our son from addressing the Court directly,” explaining that their son’s testimony will be “key to the Court learning the full truth about the events that occurred on September 26th.”
Since the news broke, Berry has denied the accusation, saying she is a victim of domestic violence herself. In a declaration filed on Monday, Oct. 5, and obtained by PEOPLE, Berry stated, “I have never physically, emotionally, or otherwise abused Maceo. I am a victim of domestic violence, and I help victims of domestic violence.” She continued, “I am not a perpetrator of violence. I would never hurt our child.”
I think both Halle and Olivier are right and wrong. It’s more than possible that Olivier coached Maceo… but Maceo is still old enough and capable enough to testify in court and to sit through what I assume will be a limited cross-examination. It’s up to the court and the judge to decide what weight to give Maceo’s testimony. I’m not saying the court is always right but I just don’t think Halle really has an argument here. She can’t really prove that Olivier coached Maceo, and we’ll just have to see what the kid says in his testimony. That’s another thing – this case should be sealed and it’s weird that it hasn’t been.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images, Backgrid.
-
- Olivier Martinez, Halle Berry at the World Premiere of CBS Films Extant, California Science Center, Los Angeles, CA 06-16-14,Image: 552979883, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Photoshot – sales@photoshot.com London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Florida: +1 239 689 1883 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: Martin Sloan / Avalon
-
- Olivier Martinez, Halle Berry at the World Premiere of CBS Films Extant, California Science Center, Los Angeles, CA 06-16-14,Image: 552979896, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Photoshot – sales@photoshot.com London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Florida: +1 239 689 1883 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: Martin Sloan / Avalon
-
- Olivier Martinez, Halle Berry at “Extant” World Premiere on June 16 2014 in Los Angeles, California.,Image: 552980125, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Photoshot – sales@photoshot.com London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Florida: +1 239 689 1883 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: Martin Sloan / Avalon
-
- CENTURY CITY, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA – MARCH 13: Halle Berry wearing Dolce & Gabbana with Samer Halimeh earrings arrives at the 27th Annual Critics’ Choice Awards held at the Fairmont Century Plaza Hotel on March 13, 2022 in Century City, Los Angeles, California, United States.,Image: 669529437, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Halle Berry, Credit line: Xavier Collin / Image Press Agency / Avalon
-
- Santa Monica, CA – Halle Berry lets her hair down for an afternoon outing with her daughter Nahla in Santa Monica. The lovely ‘John Wick’ star wears baggy pants, sandals, and an oversized black shirt as her hair blows in the wind on their walk back to their car. Pictured: Halle Berry, Nahla Ariela Aubry BACKGRID USA 28 MAY 2019 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
-
- Beverly Hills, CA – French actor Olivier Martinez seen making a shopping trip to his local Bristol Farms and grabs his usual Baguette along with a few other items. Pictured: Olivier Martinez BACKGRID USA 6 APRIL 2020 BYLINE MUST READ: RMLA / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
-
- New York City, NY – The Met Gala “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Pictured: Van Hunt, Halle Berry BACKGRID USA 5 MAY 2025 BYLINE MUST READ: BFA.com / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
-
- -Los Angeles, CA – 20200406 – Olivier Martinez Goes Grocery Shopping -PICTURED: Olivier Martinez -PHOTO by: BauerGriffin/INSTARimages.com This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact INSTAR Images for licensing fee and rights information at sales@instarimages.com or call +1 212 414 0207. This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. INSTAR Images reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded For images containing underage children: Be advised that some Countries may have restricted privacy laws against publishing images of underage children. Inform yourself! Underage children may need to be removed or have their face pixelated before publishing. Featuring: Olivier Martinez Where: Los Angeles, California, United States When: 06 Apr 2020 Credit: BauerGriffin/INSTARimages.com
-
- 78th Cannes Film Festival – Jury Photocall Featuring: Halle Berry Where: Cannes, France Credit: David Niviere/Abaca Press/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
-
- Arrivals for the World premiere of Amazon MGM Studios ‘Crime 101’ Featuring: Halle Berry Where: Los Angeles, California, United States When: 10 Feb 2026 Credit: Faye’s Vision/Cover Images
-
- New York September 22, 2026. Halle Berry attend 11th Annual Through Her Lens The Tribeca Chanel Women’s Filmmaker Program Luncheon in New York. September 22 , 2026.Credit: RogerWong/instarimages.com Featuring: Halle Berry Where: New York City, New York, United States When: 22 Sep 2026 Credit: Roger Wong/INSTARimages
Didn’t Nahla’s statement say that she wasn’t there?
Such a mess.
If her daughter could write a letter, then her son should be able to speak as well. Halle sounds very defensive.
Well but her daughter didn’t write a letter. Halle’s lawyers wrote it and had the 18 year old sign it. Honestly gross to put one kid in that position and yet also lobby for the other kid’s words to be excluded as “manipulated.”
Just for the record, it is not at all uncommon for attorneys to rework personal statements provided by friends and family of their clients. They will usually conduct extensive interviews of the person providing the statement, and often also have the person write a statement themselves. Then, using all of the information they have gathered, attorneys will write a final version of the statement and submit it to the person for review to determine its accuracy. Finally, once the attorney-written statement has been vetted by the person purported to have written it, it will be submitted to the court as so-and-so’s personal statement. This is pretty status quo and it would not be “fishy” if attorneys did indeed do this with Nahla’s statement. (Although honestly some young people are indeed that eloquent.) What *would* be fishy, not to mention illegal and unethical, is if lawyers created “Nahla’s statement” out of thin air without any input from her, but there is no indication that is the case here.
Halle is looking very defensive – not coming off well, imho. Allowing a 13-year-old to testify is reasonable and using an 18-year-old as a public puppet mouthpiece is not.
This case needs to be sealed. They are both doing irreparable damage. They both need to stop talking. This poor kid. And now his relationship with his only sibling is damaged and may not recover.
What both parents are doing is absolutely awful. I’ve always been a Halle fan Halle apologist but this is really pissing me off. Regardless of whether Maceo is being manipulated or not, Halle is not the victim here.
I can’t believe this hasn’t happened. I was wondering if they were actively publicly sharing all this information. It is awful and embarrassing. This poor child.
It’s heartbreaking. And unlike in my time the internet is forever. This will follow him forever.
And as someone who works with complex mental health legal issues and as a child of an abuser/narcissist, i can firmly say – her using the explanation that she would never abuse because she’s a survivor of DV is patently untrue. survivors are OFTEN abusers, particularly if they haven’t completed the work – there are anger & control issues that get projected and that often gets externalized with their hands.
So, a preacher can abuse his children just as much as a DV survivor can harm their children – and in her case, her history and actions are not particularly compelling to a court. Both her and Olivier are completely selfish and it’s hard to believe that people who genuinely have their children’s best interests at heart, can’t find their way out of their ego’s to agree on a suitable option that reflects the best interests of their child.
Spot on I agree wholeheartedly. Some of the most vicious people I have met were abused most people (not all) repeat patterns It is extremely difficult to break the cycle of abuse, particularly physical abuse. It takes a very strong very self aware person to break that cycle.
They are giving me the impression that they hate each other more than they love their child. And that’s heartbreaking.
By the same token, there is a whole body of evidence around male perpetrators of DV/FV turning the tables on on victim/survivors who end up being arrested by police when seeking help in abuse situations – police often end up buying male perpetrators’ version of events, particularly when they abuse black women, Indigenous women and other women of colour, who often do not get believed by police (see this story in Australia for example: https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/victim-survivors-are-being-wrongly-identified-as-perpetrators-services-claim-20251204-p5nkvp.html). None of us were there and none of us should assume – what is clear is that it’s going to take a lot of really good help and support to get both of the children in question through this situation and to help the truth come out (whatever that end up being). I hope they get that help.
Great comment. 2 parents who are extremely selfish and irreparably harming their 13 year old son.
I speculate she did put her hand on her son in a moment of losing control. Was it because she felt his father was coaching him against her? Was it because she has not done the work and healed herself from her past abuse. Does it matter which one (if it did happen) No. I suspect his father is not great either. This poor child, I hope he has other adults in his life that can help guide him.
Totally agree. It’s awful that this is playing out in public.
Why is she pointing out that he is neurodivergent? The way she did so makes it sound like he is less likely to be able to testify accurately because of his neurodivergence. The way that is so casually slipped in there without further explanation is really awful.
You articulated so well what I couldn’t quite put my finger on Josephine. If anything it makes him more likely to tell the truth in my book but yes she made it sound like he was an unreliable witness because he is neurodivergent which doesn’t sit well with me.
Agreed on all points. Also, I don’t see how Halle’s behavior is different enough from Kate Gosselin’s towards her son.
Agreed…..Really quite gross of her to use him being neurodivergent as a way to discredit him.
So, Page 6 has additional court submitted paperwork on the kid. Apparently, per the school, since the incident Maceo has hit a younger classmate, cussed someone at the school out and threw objects. This was submitted by the school. Maceo has had prior issues but they say his behavior is escalating. Oliver sounds like an enabler.
I know someone who calls his own incidences “blowouts” and they usually happened when he was under a lot of stress when he was younger (also a neurodivergent kid). The solution for him (at the time) was to go to a boys’ home. The structure and consistency there helped a lot.
Poor Maceo. I hope the courts are able to get to the truth and figure out a resolution that works well for him.
Halle might need to just “drop the rope” and stop the tug of war with Olivier about Maceo.
Or Maceo sounds like a kid who went through one private very traumatizing incident and now is suffering through a series of very public traumatizing incidents? Cut the kid some slack, he’s not the abuser in this situation.
Agreed Donna. This is all very public so I am sure other kids have read the headlines.
Or is his behavior a result of abuse and being caught in a tug of war between his parents?
Also not saying that Halle may be the only source of abuse.
Or he’s acting out because he was assaulted by his mom.
I think it’s 100% shitty of page 6 to release this information to the public. This case needs to be sealed. He is a minor FFS. What a violation. I am so sad for this kid.
Halle has always been two things. Beautiful & messy. When I read what was reported to have transpired and the comment she made to her son about ‘being a black man’ I have to admit I sided with the child.(& possibly Olivier) She has always stated she adheres to the one drop theory when claiming she was the more suitable parent in each of her custody battles (which is reprehensible & a throw back to the time of slavery. The idea being anyone w/a single drop of black blood would be categorized as lesser than a white man) & yet both of her children were sired by white men. I agree with the poster about the untenable situation to pit siblings against each other. It just seems like she has always had a temper & woe behold the one who crosses her. I wish the young man well & hope Nahla’s relationship with her brother isn’t jeopardized
same racial makeup as Halle here and you’re right. She may not like hearing this but her kids are White passing. She knew they’d probably be White passing before they were born, it’s why both times, she chose a White man to have kids with. I am not knocking that choice – people can marry have kids with whoever they want to. This may have been an unconscious choice but it was absolutely a choice. And she made this choice not once but twice when the opportunity presented itself.
I say all that to say to then claim they are Black and she is more suitable parent because they share a common heritage is sort of ridiculous. Yes they are Black – that’s part of their heritage (a quarter of it to be exact) the other three quarters is European descent.
I commented the other day that when she disparages Olivier’s race she is disparaging her own children in that process. They have more of Gabriel and Olivier’s heritage than they do hers. That is probably an unpopular take but it’s reality.
It sounds as if you are conflating “heritage” with DNA. In terms of DNA, yes, her children would be considered 3/4 white European. Also, it sounds like you are saying that bcuz their phenotypes are white passing that she shouldn’t say her children are black. Is that correct? There are a lot of black people whose recent ancestry or parental ancestry isn’t white European but whose phenotype is white or white passing. Please google Valerie Jarret, prominent Chicagoan and former Obama administration. Also, google her daughter. Valerie’s parents are both African American and so is her daughter’s.
Identity (especially racial) can often be confusing. Halle likely and does have elements that she herself hasn’t worked out in terms of how she sees herself and how others see her. Yes, her mom is white but Halle doesn’t promote herself as white and not prominently as biracial. Neither does Obama.
What’s ironic is that part the argument isn’t over whether the children are culturally American or French but over race—one of America’s oldest problems and the power dynamic that ensues & the danger it brings.
🕊️
Absolutely not saying her kids are not Black. They are. So is Mariah Carey and she has always identified as such. Valerie Jarret has always looked Black to me.
What I am saying is maybe she should chill bashing Olivier or Gabriel’s race. She chose both to be her kids’ fathers and that wasn’t by chance or happenstance. She wanted her kids to have the specific heritage and racial makeup they both have. All of us make these decisions consciously or not. She chose a White dad not once but twice. To then turn around and bash the race of the people she chose to have children with seems like an odd choice. In certain states bashing the chid’s other parent in their presence is considered a form of child abuse, as it should be.
I am not conflating race and heritage. Perhaps I could have been clearer in my explanation.
Plus Halle being Biracial herself
I’m baffled by her stance. The kid is 13, not 3. He can absolutely testify. And, assuming this is a seasoned judged, they should be able to ascertain whether the kid is being truthful or just regurgitating talking points coached by a parent. It has the appearance of her knowing that she did lay hands on him and it will come out. But the devil is in the details. Nahla said in “her” letter that Halle routinely “wrestled playfully” with Maceo. I don’t know if that was setting the expectation that Halle would claim that she “playfully” grabbed him to get him away from the video game or if that was the truth. I also know that I have grabbed stuff out of my son’s hand (phone, game, etc.) when he’s actively ignoring me, so who knows what she actually did physically when she felt he was ignoring her or being disrespectful.
I’m glad Maceo will get to testify. Abuse victims of all ages should be believed and supported. Halle is calling her son a liar every chance she gets. The kid took a picture of her right after the abuse and Halle recreated the pose as if to say it means nothing. That is a very strange thing to do. And it was reported her daughter was not there, now Halle claims she was. Bullshit.
I haven’t been following this at all but any child of an ugly divorce/custody suit recognizes so much of the pain of being put in the middle. That child has already experienced irreparable psychological harm even if this all stops today. I’m in my 50s and to this day suffer from people pleaser syndrome. I recognize it. I know I can’t blame childhood trauma for any personal flaw, but my brain still screams “tell them what they want to hear.” How do they not see the trauma they’re causing?
MightyMolly, sorry for your experience. The parents are blinded by their hatred of each other. That’s my best guess.
Thank you, JFerber. You’re right of course but my parents were young and from a generation before people talked about mental health. For two 60 year olds in this era – and one claiming a background in helping abuse survivors – to be so angry at each other they can’t see the impact on their children… it’s hard to believe.
YES! Why is all this mess being kept in the public eye for so long? If anyone really cares for this boy, they would be demanding that all the court filings be sealed.
Macro is 13 years old, and he is part of a highly contentious separation of his parents. There are protocols for how he is handled by the court in California, and the judge is going to do things that feel unfair to Maceo, Halle and Olivier.
Maceo will be pulled in to speak with the judge. I’m sure that there are already reams of evaluations for the court to read about him and any issues he has had. The evaluations give recommendations, and experienced psychologists and judges know when a young person is being manipulated by one side or the other.
In my view, Olivier resents Halle and is encouraging poor behavior based on Olivier’s refusal to participate in therapy with the family and on Maceo’s outbursts at school. Halle will be criticized by Olivier no matter what she says or does as she tries to teach Maceo how to move in the world. It looks to me like she is the one who is making the hard choices that Maceo doesn’t like.
My opinions are based on my own highly contentious breakup with an abusive man, being in court for over a decade with my child’s father, and going through all of this when my child was about Maceos’s age. My child also hated me then, and was combative based on their father’s influence, and now I have an 80-year domestic violence restraining order and my child wants nothing to do with their father because they were a victims of my ex’s abuse. I was portrayed as the abuser in court by my ex, and he turned many in our community against me. All I could do was keep going to court and fighting for my kid, because I knew my ex was angry and dangerous. My kid is fine now that father has been removed legally from the picture.
@Christina I’m so sorry that all happened. I hope you and your kid have recovered emotionally. I’m glad your child has a nurturing parent looking out for them. 🤗
Thank you, @Mightymolly. None of this stuff is simple. I feel like people on this forum are vilifying Halle Berry like they did Angelina Jolie until it was clearly demonstrated that Brad Pitt was the abuser. None of these people is perfect, but, to me, this looks really familiar, and I feel for Maceo and for the family.
Stop talking. The child probably read the comments (if he hasn’t already). Keep this very private for the child’s sake.
Simply said. Agree.
All of this talk about “SHE shouldn’t say he is neurodivergent” is unfair to all of the people involved in this case. It is absolutely relevant to how all of this is going down in both homes. And combative kids, which it sounds like Maceo is, need to learn skills to help them survive in the world. I have a neurodivergent, formerly combative kid, so I know. And my ex didn’t want our kid in treatment and he abused our uncooperative kid. Kid is now a functional adult because of the DVRO that keeps clueless, cruel dad away.
Court process forces you to talk. I wish that this was kept private, and she pays lawyers who I would think would have asked to close the proceedings in the interest of the child, but court proceedings don’t always work that way. If the other side of a high conflict battle doesn’t want to keep a proceeding private, the judge will sometimes leave it open because they want to appear fare and don’t see a compelling reason to keep it private.
I wanted my kid to have her own lawyer. My ex didn’t want kid in therapy or to have a lawyer. My attorney presented kid having a discreet lawyer as fair to all parties, and the ex finally agreed. My attorney explained that if the ex didn’t agree, kid would not have a court-appointed lawyer who specialized in young clients. This is an example of why it isn’t private. Olivier may not want it to be. We don’t know.
My issue is how Halle is saying it. As if him being neurodivergent makes him defective and unable to speak about what happened or unable to make the decision to want to live with his dad.
The truth is we don’t know Maceo. There could be any number of reasons he could be acting out. For all we know Maceo is very intelligent and prone to act out because of frustration, anger, feeling of helplessness — not because he is overly aggressive or anything.
There’s also cultural differences at play. Americans love to label people; whereas in other places they tend to address the child’s behavior without putting a label on the child.
Exactly: the truth is that we don’t know Maceo. His mother knows him. His dad knows him. Apparently a bunch of psychologists and his school know him. In a court proceeding, they will consider the opinions of trained professionals. A bunch of people on this forum act like calling this child neurodivergent is a slur. It CAN BE A SLUR in many cases, but it is the terminology used in courts to define the need for structure and treatment. We do not know what neurodivergent means in this case. It’s used as an umbrella term for lots of diagnoses, many mild and many quite serious. But jumping to, “she keeps attacking Maceo by calling him neurodivergent” is judging a parent who is trying to protect her clearly combative kid, and I think that is awful, because a lot of women are judged as the harpy in these situations. If people don”t like Halley Berry, fine, but this pile on feels wrong to me. It happened with Angelina Jolie, and here we go again. I KNOW it happened to me in my community’.
Angelina Jolie was never accused of abuse by any of her kids (BP accuses her of PA, but all his kids being estranged from him tells another story).
What’s different here is that there’s one kid accusing his mum of abuse, I think it’s fair to remain in the middle and not believing Halle or Olivier until the judge makes a decision.
P.S. I’m sorry it happened to you but you’re projecting a little here.
It’s awful that this is all playing out on TMZ, etc. why wouldn’t the court of its own volition seal these types of proceedings to protect the child involved?!!
NAL but researching child custody cases in California are not sealed by the courts. They are treated as public records.
Unless the parties involved request it to be sealed. Which tells me neither side requested it to be sealed. Which also tells me Halle and Oliver are using the courts and a child to bash each other publicly through the court system to sling mud at each other. Wanting the better story in the press.
I know Halle has dealt with some bad relationships. But they are both gross for doing this to a child.
There is that old sad saying, when two parents hate each other more than they love their child.
Omg Flamingo just said this upthread before I read your comment. Yes to everything you just said.
After reading through some of Halle’s statements and her insistence on always saying that Maceo is neurodivergent; I can imagine that the crux of the issue is that dad is like “he is who he is, let’s support him, help him figure things out but not try to force him to be something he isn’t” and Halle may be more like he needs to change, he needs help; she might be coming at it from angle of he needs to be fixed.
The way she talks about him being neurodivergent is odd to me.
Halle comes across as inflexible. Like a manger who doesn’t understand that you have to manage people different ways – sometimes you have to parent your children in different ways.
It’s a very old school way of thinking imo. That symptoms should be masked instead of finding ways to work with it. Being neurodivergent doesnt mean you’re less then or should have less autonomy. I think it’s quite harmful to his self esteem if she really think his neurodivergence mean he should have less of a voice tbh.
This very old-school way of thinking is very much in line with that generation of French men. I should know: I’m married to one, and I see it in both him and his friends.
NikkiK, I agree that Halle Berry should not be telling the world her kid is neurodivergent. For whose benefit is she saying this? Not for her son’s, IMO.
If Halle is the parent more involved with the kid’s school, other social groups, and therapists, I can imagine that the pressure at nearly all times is a lot. I’m a neurodivergent parent of neurodivergent kids, and a single mom, and in our ADHD family, emotional self-regulation is an huge issue. My kids’ father is not as involved in our day-to-day lives, school and therapy issues and, well, is generally much more relaxed and patient than I am. I’d say that there is far less structure in his house and do prefer for our son to live with me.
But, I’ve experienced abuse as a child and my son’s safety (physically and emotionally) is of utmost
Importance to me. I would not pretend that he was better off living at our/my place if I found myself physically fighting and scaring him, I hope?! And I have had issues with anger management, so that’s a relevant question for me. I’m sure that Halle has her son‘s best interest in heart, but sometimes distance makes sense,
Im not sure it’s a good thing for Berry to try to block him from tellling his side. Why would she do that other than to prevent him from the ugly truth? He did rush out to his father that day, something did happen. It is for him about him after all.
Berry’s victim excuse to me is irrelevant. A victim is not immune to being an abuser.
The reality is we have no idea what’s been going on. It is truly disgusting that all of this information is public. Poor kid.
Dismissing her son’s testimony as that of “a neurodivergent 13-year-old child” is so messed up. My son is neurodivergent, but if I described him this way in public (particularly with the undertone labeling him as some kind of simpleton Forrest Gump) he would legit walk away.