Halle Berry is speaking out and firing back at the claims by her ex, Oliver Martinez, regarding her being violent towards their 13-year-old son. Instead, the actress says she is a victim of domestic violence and an advocate.
This comes after Page Six reported on Friday, Oct. 2, that Martinez filed a temporary restraining order against Berry, saying that she had harmed their son by jumping on him and putting her hands around his neck on Sept. 26. The incident allegedly began when Berry said Maceo looked “so stupid” and was “such an idiot” for playing a virtual reality game with the goggles.
“The situation escalated and Petitioner jumped on our son and started physically fighting with him,” he alleged in the documents, according to Page Six. “She grabbed Maceo by the neck and started choking him while shouting, ‘Who is dominant now?! Who is dominant?!’”
He added that his was not an isolated incident and requested sole custody. A judge granted the temporary restraining order for Olivier, which required her to stay 100 yards away from him.
However, in a new report by PEOPLE, Berry has asked the courts to restore the prior agreement they had in August 2023, in which the couple share 50/50 custody. She added that she is concerned that Martinez’s anger towards her is impacting her relationship and interactions with her son.
TMZ further reported that what actually happened was that her son had the headset on while playing in his room, and she went in to tell him to stop. She then went into the bathroom, sat down, and then began recording on her phone while he kept playing. He then noticed and walked over to her, where they began “playfully roughhousing.” She “never placed her hands around his neck, never choked him or restrained his breathing.” The actress did add that the wrestling escalated, with her boyfriend, Van Hunt, coming upstairs. She tried to take the headset off her son, which resulted in him shoving her again. Her son then threatened to leave and go back to his father, and Berry then talked Martinez to “enforce appropriate boundaries.” Berry’s court filings also include photos of their son wearing the VR goggles, with special timestamps to back up her side of the story.
“I would never hurt our child,” Berry said, per TMZ, regarding the allegations against her.
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or visit their website.