Nahla Aubry has stepped into a bitter family court fight with a sworn declaration in Los Angeles Superior Court backing Halle Berry and rejecting abuse allegations made by Olivier Martinez. The 18-year-old, Berry’s daughter, said she never saw her mother hit, slap, choke, grab or otherwise physically abuse Maceo Martinez.
She filed the declaration after Martinez accused Berry of choking Maceo during an alleged Sept. 26 altercation at her home, a claim that put Berry’s conduct toward the 13-year-old at the center of the dispute. Aubry said she was shocked, very sad and very upset when she learned of the allegation, and said she was heartbroken for her younger brother.
Aubry’s account matters because it comes from someone who said she has lived with Maceo for most of his life and split her time between Berry’s home and Gabriel Aubry’s residence before recently moving from California to Massachusetts to attend college. In her declaration, she said Berry attended Maceo’s games, drove him to practices and tournaments, and advocated for his education. She also said Berry is a loving and devoted parent who can be strict when necessary and that she never heard her mother make racially insensitive or racially charged comments.
The declaration also adds a direct counterweight to Martinez’s version of events. He claimed Berry grabbed their son by the neck and choked him during an argument that began while Maceo was playing a virtual reality game. Aubry said she has never seen Berry place her hands around Maceo’s neck, put him in a chokehold, restrict his breathing or do anything that resembled the allegations.
Aubry said she last spoke with Maceo on Sept. 29, when Berry was driving him to school. She said they spoke on speakerphone about her college experience and that he sounded happy for her and did not seem upset about anything. The filing does not answer what evidence, if any, supports Martinez’s claims beyond his court request, but it does show that Berry now has a close family witness publicly defending her. What comes next will turn on whether the court accepts that account, or gives weight to Martinez’s allegations instead.
