Halle Berry's attorney blasted Olivier Martinez's child abuse claims as meritless on Thursday, the same day a temporary restraining order was granted against Berry in the couple's custody dispute over their 12-year-old son, Maceo. The order requires Berry to stay 100 yards from Martinez and limits her contact with Maceo until an Oct. 16 hearing.
That immediate change is why the filing is drawing so much attention now. Martinez is seeking sole custody and says Berry physically and emotionally abused Maceo, including an allegation that she jumped on him, put her hands around his neck and choked him. He also said the September 26, 2026 incident was the latest in a series of abuse episodes over several years and claimed the dispute caused him emotional and mental distress because of what he described as abuse of their minor child.
Berry's attorney, Marina Beck, answered with a sharp denial. Beck said there is voluminous evidence, including numerous judicial rulings, that Martinez repeatedly violated court orders and interfered with necessary therapeutic and educational interventions for Maceo, conduct she said had already brought legal sanctions. She added that Berry would not be deterred from fighting for the child's best interests and providing him with love and support.
Martinez's filing also described a separate confrontation in which he said Berry walked into the boy's room while he was wearing virtual reality goggles and told him he looked so stupid. He alleged that Berry attacked and choked him as well, shouting, Who is dominant now?! and said Maceo later called him and claimed Berry had attacked him. Martinez said Van Hunt was at home at the time.
The former couple have also been ordered to attend confidential mediation about custody, putting the fight over Maceo in front of both a judge and a mediator before the Oct. 16 hearing. For now, the court order limits Berry's contact, but the sharper question is whether Martinez can back up the abuse claims he has put before the court, or whether the case turns instead on the history of repeated violations Beck says already surrounds him.
