A Los Angeles judge has ruled that 13-year-old Maceo Martinez can testify in the ongoing custody dispute between his parents, actress Halle Berry and her ex-husband Olivier Martinez, with the next hearing scheduled for Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court.
The case centers on an incident at Berry’s Los Angeles home on Sept. 26. In court papers filed earlier this month, Martinez, 60, accused Berry, 60, of choking and physically abusing their son during an argument and sought sole legal custody along with a domestic violence restraining order against her. Berry’s legal team has called the allegations “meritless and deliberately misleading.”
According to Martinez’s filings, the confrontation began after an argument over virtual reality goggles, during which he alleges Berry called Maceo “such an idiot” for playing a game on the headset. He has also alleged multiple other instances of abuse over the past year and a half; details of those incidents have not been made public.
In a formal response filed Wednesday, Berry countered that Martinez is responsible for their son’s recent behavioral issues at school. She is asking the court to grant her sole legal custody and restore her authority over major decisions affecting Maceo’s welfare. If the judge declines, she is requesting final decision-making power over his education, medical care and mental health treatment in cases where the parents cannot agree within 72 hours. Her filing includes declarations from her fiancé, musician Van Hunt, 56, from her daughter Nahla, and from school staff.
Martinez currently has temporary sole custody of Maceo.
Daughter Speaks Up
Nahla Aubry, 18, Berry’s daughter from her relationship with model Gabriel Aubry, filed a declaration in Los Angeles Superior Court describing her mother as a “loving and devoted parent” who “can be strict when necessary.”
“I have never seen my mom hit, slap, choke, grab, or physically abuse Maceo in any way,” Nahla stated, adding she was “shocked” by the allegations.
Nahla also said: “I have never seen my mom place her hands around Maceo’s neck, put him in a chokehold, restrict his breathing, or engage in any conduct remotely resembling the allegations that have been made against her.” She described her mother as “warm, supportive and deeply involved in our lives” and said she “never observed anything abusive about her parenting.”
A Long History of Legal Battles
Berry and Martinez, who met in 2010 while filming “Dark Tide,” married at a chateau in Vallery, France, in July 2013, three months before Maceo was born. They announced their separation in the fall of 2015, and their divorce was not finalized until August 2023, after eight years of proceedings. Under the final terms, Berry pays Martinez $8,000 a month in child support plus 4.3% of any income above $2 million a year, and covers Maceo’s private school tuition, health insurance, extracurricular activities, and therapy.
Berry’s relationship history has included repeated court disputes. Her previous relationship with Aubry, with whom she had daughter Nahla in 2008, led to years of litigation after their 2010 split. On Thanksgiving 2012, Aubry and Martinez got into a physical altercation outside Berry’s Los Angeles home; Aubry suffered a broken rib and facial injuries, while Martinez sustained injuries to his hand and neck. Aubry was arrested for misdemeanor battery, though neither man was ultimately charged, and both obtained temporary restraining orders against each other before the matter was resolved.
In 2014, a court ordered Berry to pay Aubry $16,000 a month in child support along with Nahla’s private school tuition, $115,000 in retroactive support, and $300,000 toward Aubry’s attorney fees. That same year, Berry took Aubry to court alleging he had altered their daughter’s naturally curly hair; Aubry denied the claim.
Berry also has a legal history unrelated to her relationships. In February 2000, she was involved in a hit-and-run in Hollywood after running a red light on Sunset Boulevard and colliding with a car driven by Hetal Raythatha, who suffered a broken wrist. Berry, who said she suffered amnesia after hitting her head in the crash, left the scene before police arrived; investigators found no evidence she had been drinking or using drugs. She was initially charged with a felony, later reduced to a misdemeanor, and in May 2000 pleaded no contest, receiving three years of probation, a $13,500 fine and 200 hours of community service. Raythatha’s subsequent civil suit against Berry was settled out of court in May 2001.
Life Beyond the Courtroom
Berry, who made history in 2012 as the first Black woman to win the Best Actress Oscar, for her role in “Monster’s Ball,” continues to work in Los Angeles’ entertainment industry. She has projects in development including “The President Is Missing,” an adaptation of the Bill Clinton and James Patterson novel for Apple Original Films, and Respin, a wellness platform focused on women’s health and menopause.
According to TMZ, Berry has listed her Los Angeles home — the site of the 2012 altercation between Martinez and Aubry — for sale at nearly $12 million.
Berry, who turned 60 in August, has spoken publicly about feeling settled in this stage of her life. “I feel stronger, smarter, wiser, more myself, more in control,” she told Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones earlier this year. “I’m the best version of myself at this time in my life and I am so glad that I’m still here and healthy.”
A rep and attorney for Berry declined to comment on the current custody proceedings.
