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Fast and Furious star Tyrese Gibson has been arrested and appeared in court in Fulton County, Georgia for underpaying child support.
According to court records, the 45-year-old was ordered by a judge to pay upwards of $73,000 to his ex-wife, Samantha Lee to avoid any jail time. The pair were married between 2017 and 2020 and share a daughter, Soraya, who was born in 2018.
Judge Kevin Farmer held Gibson in contempt of a nonpayment of $10,690 (£8,159.93) in child support which was due in April 2023. The judge offered Gibson the chance to avoid jail if he could pay $73.525.73 (£6,228.67) within the next 48 hours, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
TMZ has since reported that Gibson was released from custody on Monday after his attorney Tanya Mitchell Graham filed an appeal on the ruling allowing the actor to delay paying the $73.525.73 in child support.
Gibson has reportedly paid $2,200 (£1,679.31) in child support since 2022, which is 25 per cent under the amount he was ordered to pay two years ago.
On Instagram, it appears that Gibson knew his arrest was imminent. In a since deleted post, he lashed out at Lee’s lawyers and Judge Farmer, writing: “Samantha’s lawyer Adam Gleklen and William Alexander who are besties with the judge Kevin M Farmer [ collusion ].
“We are APPEALLING [sic] ALL OF HIS RULINGS AND ALREADY HAVE TRIED TO GET THIS JUDGE THROWN OFF THE BENCH TWICE. The second time we tried to get him recused from the bench. [ He actually denied his own request to be thrown off the bench] …imagine that???
“It’s pretty clear that they hate my guts, but I must remind them and everything about my life and my success. I’ve worked my ass off since I was 14 years old to get here,” he added. “#FamilyLawCourts are the WORST TOWARDS FATHERS.”
Elsewhere, in a long rant on video, Gibson attempted to dismiss the dispute as “baby mama drama” adding that it was “goofy”.
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In another post, Gibson shared a picture of him and his daughter stating: “The love that a father can have for his children can’t quite be explained……. Whatever the outcome is today…… I am and will forever be their FATHER……..”
The Baby Boy star also made headlines when he sued the retailer Home Depot for $1 million for “discriminatory mistreatment and consumer racial profiling”.
