Halle Berry’s attorney dismissed her ex-husband Olivier Martinez’s abuse allegations and temporary restraining order as entirely meritless, pointing to his record of court sanctions and interference with their son’s care.
Olivier Martinez secured a temporary restraining order against Halle Berry and is seeking sole custody of their 12-year-old son, Maceo, after alleging she physically and emotionally abused the boy. Berry’s attorney answered the filing the same day it landed, calling the claims baseless and deliberately misleading.
Fox News Digital reported the court action and the attorney’s response, drawing on petition language obtained by People and order details first reported by TMZ. The former couple must also attend confidential mediation on custody. A hearing is set for Oct. 16.
Until then, Berry must stay 100 yards from Martinez. She may see Maceo only during court-ordered visits two days a week and every other weekend.
In papers quoted by People, Martinez said Berry caused him “emotional and mental distress due to physical abuse of our minor child, Maceo.” He alleged she “physically abused our son, Maceo, by jumping on him, putting her hands around his neck, and choking him.”
The petition fixed the latest alleged incident on September 26, 2026. Martinez wrote that the boy called him afterward. He also claimed Berry’s fiancé, Van Hunt, was home at the time.
Martinez further contended the September episode was not isolated:
"While the September 26, 2026, incident in which Petitioner choked our son is the latest incident of abuse, I contend that there have been other instances of abuse over the course of the last few years."
He added that those earlier episodes involved “additional physical attacks against our son, as well as verbal and emotional abuse from Petitioner to me.” The filing also attributed remarks to Berry during the alleged incident, including telling the boy he looked “so stupid” and shouting, “Who is dominant now?!”
The petition seeks sobriety testing for Berry before, during, and after any visits with their son, and asks that she not be under the influence. Martinez’s representatives did not immediately respond when Fox News Digital sought comment.
Berry’s attorney, Marina Beck, rejected the narrative outright. She told Fox News Digital the filing was not a surprise given Martinez’s record.
"To say this filing is entirely meritless and deliberately misleading would be an understatement. There is voluminous evidence, including numerous judicial rulings, that Olivier Martinez repeatedly violated court orders and interfered with necessary therapeutic and educational interventions to the detriment of his and Halle Berry's minor son Maceo, misconduct for which Mr. Martinez has already been legally sanctioned."
Beck continued:
"In a way, today’s filing is not entirely unexpected from an individual with a well-documented history of erratic, possessive and violent behavior. Fortunately, Halle is used to this kind of outrageous conduct from Mr. Martinez and, while she is deeply saddened, she will not allow it to deter her from fighting for Maceo’s best interests and providing him with the love and support he needs."
Those are allegations and counter-claims. The temporary order restricts contact; it is not a final finding that the abuse claims are true. The Oct. 16 hearing and ordered mediation will test both sides under court rules, not press releases.
Berry and Martinez first filed for divorce in 2015 after roughly two years of marriage. They finalized the split in 2023, eight years after they parted. Fox News Digital obtained the 33-page judgment.
Under that settlement, Berry agreed to pay nearly $8,000 a month in child support. She also pays Martinez 4.3% on any income she earns above $2 million. She covers Maceo’s private school tuition, 100% of extracurricular activities, and health care. Martinez is required to take “reasonable action” to find employment and contribute for the boy.
The current parenting schedule has Maceo splitting time between both parents during the week and alternating weekends, with holiday exceptions. Each parent gets one phone or video call with the other parent before bed, lasting less than 15 minutes. Both must refrain from talking badly about the other in front of the child.
Two years before Martinez’s latest petition, Berry herself filed for sole custody. She cited what she described as Martinez’s “turbulent and detrimental behavior” toward therapeutic and educational interventions for their son, the same theme Beck raised again this week.
Berry also shares an 18-year-old daughter, Nahla Ariela Aubry, with ex Gabriel Aubry. That history is background only; the active fight is over Maceo.
A temporary restraining order can issue quickly on a petitioner’s sworn statements. It is designed to freeze the situation until a fuller hearing. Here it forces distance from Martinez, shrinks Berry’s time with Maceo until mid-October, and pushes both parents into confidential mediation.
What the public file does not yet show is independent corroboration of the choking and attack claims beyond Martinez’s petition. Beck says prior judicial rulings already sanctioned Martinez for violating orders and blocking care the boy needed. Martinez’s side has not answered those points on the record in the Fox News Digital account.
Serious child-abuse allegations belong in court with evidence, witnesses, and cross-examination, not as a first strike in a custody war. Parents who have already been sanctioned for flouting orders do not get a free pass when they later demand sole control. And no child is safer when adults turn a private crisis into a public filing without proof that can withstand scrutiny.
Maceo is 12. He did not file the papers. He will live with whatever the court decides after the adults finish trading accusations.
Family courts exist to protect children, not to reward the loudest petition. Accusations this grave demand evidence, and parents who break orders should not expect the system to look away.
