Halle Berry is seeking to restore a 50-50 custody agreement for her 12-year-old son following a temporary restraining order obtained by Olivier Martinez. The legal filing comes in the wake of disputed abuse allegations, with an upcoming court hearing scheduled for October 16, 2026.
The legal dispute between Halle Berry and Olivier Martinez intensified following a late-September incident involving their son, Maceo. Martinez secured a temporary restraining order after alleging that Berry physically harmed the child at her home on September 26, 2026, prompting a judge in Los Angeles to modify custody arrangements and restrict Berry’s time with the 12-year-old.
Martinez Seeks Sole Custody and Restraining Orders
The emergency legal filing followed what Martinez described as an alarming altercation after Berry entered her son’s bedroom while the boy was playing a virtual reality game. According to court documents, Martinez asserted that Maceo telephoned him immediately afterward to request an immediate pickup, claiming his mother had grabbed him by the neck. According to legal paperwork filed by the French actor, the dispute began when Berry told Maceo he looked foolish and called him an idiot because he was wearing a virtual reality headset to play a game. Patrick Bagdaserians, counsel for Martinez, stated that his client’s principal concern is the health, well-being, and safety of the child.
The temporary protective order mandates that Berry maintain a distance of at least 90 meters from Martinez and their son. In addition to seeking sole custody, Martinez’s legal filings raised allegations regarding prior incidents over the course of the former couple’s post-divorce arrangement, which was finalized in 2023 after an eight-year legal battle.
Berry Rejects Allegations and Seeks Custody Restoration
Berry’s legal team has strongly contested the claims, calling them baseless and misleading. Marina Beck, attorney for Berry, stated that the legal challenge is entirely groundless and that the actress is accustomed to such provocative behavior from Martinez. In declarations filed in early October, the Oscar-winning actress denied ever harming her son and pointed to her own history as a survivor of domestic violence.
I have never abused Maceo, neither physically, nor emotionally, nor in any other way. I am a survivor of domestic violence and I help survivors of domestic violence. Halle
Berry offered a different account of the September 26 incident, stating that she went to her son’s room to instruct him to stop playing and began recording him with her phone. According to her filing, Maceo grabbed the phone, leading to a physical tussle that she described as the kind of rough play they frequently engage in. She denied placing her hands around his neck or restricting his breathing, adding that her fiancé, Van Hunt, came upstairs after the situation escalated.
Subsequent to the initial filings, Berry petitioned the court to reinstate the joint 50-50 custody framework established in August 2023. She also asked the court to restore her final decision-making authority in parenting disagreements and to order Martinez to participate in court-mandated family therapy sessions.
Nahla Aubry Files Declaration in Support of Her Mother
The legal proceedings also drew a filing from Berry’s 18-year-old daughter, Nahla Aubry, who submitted an affidavit to the Los Angeles Superior Court supporting her mother.
Nahla pushed back against the claims made in the restraining order application. Legal counsel for Martinez noted that the temporary order remains a preliminary step rather than a final judgment on the merits of the case, serving primarily to keep the parties apart while evaluations proceed.
Court Date Set for October 16
The temporary restrictions limit Berry’s time with Maceo to specific hours on Mondays, Tuesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays, and require sobriety testing during visitation periods. Both sides are preparing for the scheduled court hearing on October 16, 2026, which will address whether the protective orders become permanent and how custody of the 12-year-old will be structured moving forward.