Halle Berry is back in court this week, with the actress claiming that ex Gabriel Aubry is fleecing her to the tune of $16,000 per month in child support.
Berry started her trial on Tuesday, asking a judge to reduce her monthly child support payments to $3,000 down from the $16,000 she’s currently paying. The couple shares a daughter, Nahla.
As TMZ notes, Berry has argued that Aubry is something of a deadbeat:
“Berry has groused Gabriel needs to get a job and pay his own freight. She says she’s happy to pay him to properly care for 7-year-old Nahla when he has physical custody, but she says he’s using the money to avoid work.”
“Aubry has been a successful model, but says he lost a lot of work after Halle’s then-fiance/now hubby, Olivier Martinez, beat his face in .”
At the time, Aubry claimed that Martinez threatened him during Nahla’s school performance around Thanksgiving time.
In court, Aubry’s lawyer claimed that Martinez whispered in French, “I wish I could beat the s**t out of you right now. You’re lucky we’re in a school right now. We’re going to take Nahla right now and you’re not going to follow us.”
Aubry claimed that the next day Martinez confronted him again when Aubry brought his daughter to Halle’s house, attacking him and beating his head against the pavement.
Halle Berry has been to court several times in her battle with Gabriel Aubry, and the allegations have often been salacious. Last year the actress reportedly claimed that her former lover was trying to make her daughter “white” by straightening her naturally curly hair.
A judge ultimately ruled that neither Halle nor Gabriel could change their daughter’s appearance, and her hair was returned to its normal state.
Berry also tried at the time to reduce her monthly support payments. Her lawyer even broke down the way Gabriel had been spending the more than $200,000 he gets each year.
$740 a month for fitness $940 a month in clothing (Nahla had her own clothing costs, reportedly $675 a month) $700 a month for health insurance $1,975 a month in car expenses $1,100 a month in furniture and electronics
All of those expenses went to Gabriel, not Nahla, Halle argued.
“There is no case, no law, no logic that says a healthy, active man gets to simply live off child support that the wealthier mother earns,” her lawyer argued back in November (via the Mirror ).
There was not yet word on a decision in Halle Berry’s latest court battle.
[Picture by Mike Coppola/Getty Images]