Halle Berry has filed a series of new requests in her ongoing custody dispute with ex-husband Olivier Martinez over their 13-year-old son, Maceo. In court documents submitted Monday, Berry also described herself as a domestic violence victim while responding to allegations that she had physically abused the teenager.
In an application filed with Los Angeles Superior Court and reviewed by The Daily Mail, Berry, 60, asked the judge to restore the shared-custody arrangement she and Martinez, also 60, had in place in 2023.
The Oscar-winning actress also requested authority to break any deadlock between the parents and asked the court to order Martinez to participate in previously mandated therapy sessions.
Berry’s latest filings came days after Martinez secured a temporary domestic violence restraining order against her. His request was based on allegations that Berry had abused their son during an incident on September 26. Berry has denied the accusations.
In an ex parte application filed Monday, Berry said she is “a victim of domestic violence” and an advocate for people who have experienced it.
The Daily Mail has contacted legal representatives for both Berry and Martinez for additional comment.
Halle Berry, 60, has made several requests in her ongoing custody dispute with ex-husband Olivier Martinez over their 13-year-old son, Maceo. She is pictured in New York City last month.
“I have never physically, emotionally, or otherwise abused Maceo,” Berry wrote in the filing. “I am a victim of domestic violence, and I help victims of domestic violence. I am not a perpetrator of violence. I would never hurt our child.”
In her Monday filing, Berry outlined several concerns about what she called “Olivier’s conduct” and its effect on their ability to co-parent their son.
She alleged that Martinez had “continued” making “unilateral” decisions about Maceo’s education and extracurricular activities without her “prior knowledge and consent.”
Berry further claimed that Martinez “consistently places Maceo… in the middle of our conflict” and disrupts the therapeutic work involving their son.
According to Berry’s filing, Maceo would “act out” and become “angry and combative” after spending time with his father.
“He would talk back to me, be untruthful, and do sneaky things (last year, I caught Maceo reading my text messages while on FaceTime with Olivier),” she alleged. “It took Maceo 2-3 days to acclimate to being at home and when he would go back to Olivier, the cycle would start all over again.”
Berry also accused Martinez of attempting to “align Maceo with him and against me” in different aspects of the teenager’s life. She said this left their son angry with her over private matters that she and Martinez were discussing separately.
The actress alleged that Maceo repeated disagreements she and Martinez had discussed privately and adopted his father’s position in those disputes.
“If the dispute related to a decision regarding Maceo (for example, about soccer, school, or therapy), Maceo knew about it before Olivier and I reached a decision with respect to a particular issue and would tell me what he and Olivier are going to do (without my input) completely disregarding my authority as his mother,” Berry wrote.
Olivier Martinez, 60, is pictured with his son Maceo in Los Angeles in January 2020.
Berry and Martinez are pictured at a film screening in Los Angeles in October 2012.
Berry told the court that Martinez had refused to take necessary steps to secure “educational and psychoeducational services” for their son. She also claimed he used “Maceo’s soccer activities… for negotiating terms impacting Maceo’s educational and therapeutic needs.”
Berry further alleged that Martinez had tried to portray her as “a risk to our child by communicating false stories” to Maceo’s teachers and therapists.
Berry told the court in the request that Martinez’s ‘actions and lack of cooperation with respect to Maceo’s psychological and educational needs have been detrimental to Maceo’s health and welfare.’
The actress said in the legal filing that Martinez’s refusal ‘to allow early interventions have caused Maceo to fall further behind in school, caused Maceo’s acting out behaviors to worsen, and caused further damage to’ her relationship with her son.
‘Olivier told me that Maceo is old enough to make decisions for himself and that I should allow Maceo to do so to keep him happy so that he would be nicer to me,’ Berry told the court in the request. ‘While I am attuned to Maceo’s thoughts and feelings and encourage an open dialogue, I do not agree that a [child] should be permitted to make decisions regarding his education, health, extracurricular activities, and general welfare.’
Berry claimed in the legal request that time and legal intervention ‘has not improved’ Martinez’s actions related to the issues at hand.
Berry said in the legal request that Martinez has refused to accept her relationship with fiancé Van Hunt, who she claimed ‘plays an important role in Maceo’s life.’
Berry said in the request, ‘Olivier’s lack of acceptance of Van has resulted in Olivier refusing to permit Maceo to work in a family therapy setting with me and Van as a means to continue to create a healthy environment for our son within the structure of a blended family.’
Berry told the court in the request that Martinez’s ‘actions and lack of cooperation with respect to Maceo’s psychological and educational needs have been detrimental to Maceo’s health and welfare.’ Pictured September 22 in NYC
In a responsive declaration reviewed by The Daily Mail, Martinez requested the court decline the requests made by Berry. Pictured 2019 with Maceo in LA
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In a responsive declaration reviewed by The Daily Mail, Martinez requested the court decline the requests made by Berry.
He cited the temporary restraining order he filed against her after claiming to the court that she had been physically abusive to Maceo.
Martinez said in the declaration that Berry had not taken the proper protocols in filing her requests in a bid to control the public narrative.
A source claimed to The Daily Mail on October 2 that there was searing tension between the exes amid their legal battle over their son.
‘Olivier and Halle hate each other,’ the source claimed. ‘If they were asked to say something nice about each other, you probably would not be able to force them into saying anything pleasant because they dislike each other so much.’