Fast & Furious actor Tyrese Gibson was arrested on Monday in an Atlanta courtroom, amid a contentious child support battle with Gibson’s ex-wife, Samantha Lee. The judge found Gibson was in contempt of court, and ordered him taken into custody. Gibson’s lawyer appealed the judge’s decision, and Gibson was released the same day.
Gibson and Lee married in 2017, according to The Hollywood Reporter, and divorced in 2020. They have one daughter, Soraya Gibson. In 2023, Gibson was ordered to pay Lee monthly child support. The judge ruled that Gibson owed Lee that amount beginning when the couple divorced in 2020. One year later, Gibson refused to make the court-ordered monthly child support payments, and found himself back in court.
Before his court appearance, the Bad Boy star said he expected an arrest might be coming. “Samantha’s lawyer Adam Gleklen and William Alexander who are besties with the judge Kevin M Farmer [ collusion ],” Gibson wrote in part in a since-deleted Instagram post.
Gibson added, “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.”
How much does Tyrese Gibson pay in child support?
In 2023, the judge ordered Tyrese Gibson to pay Lee nearly $11,000 monthly, and said the payments should have started when the couple divorced in 2020. At that time, Gibson owed Lee $169,000. In his 2024 court appearance, the judge ruled Gibson still owed Lee approximately $74,000, including legal fees. Gibson had been paying Lee $2,200 monthly, a quarter of what the court said he owed. The judge said Gibson had 48 hours to pay what he owed before declaring him in contempt and throwing him in jail.
After Gibson’s lawyer appealed the ruling and the actor was released, it was apparently understood that he would still need to pay that amount, he just had more time to get the money, according to TMZ. “Getting arrested wasn’t fun as a matter of fact it was very traumatic,” Gibson wrote on X after he was released. “One would ask why does this judge Kevin M Farmer HATE me so much? Well attached is his nightmare details of the APPEAL!” he added.
Gibson and Lee shared a statement when they split in 2020. “Our intention is to remain the best of friends & strong coparents. We feel incredibly blessed to have found each other and deeply grateful for the 4 years we have been married to each other.” Tyrese has another daughter, Shayla, from another marriage with Norma Mitchell. Mitchell later sued Gibson for defamation.
How much does Tyrese Gibson make?
Tyrese Gibson is an actor, author, and a Grammy-nominated musician. Some reports state he’s worth about $2 million. Others state he’s worth as much as $30 million. When Gibson and Mitchell divorced, TMZ reported that Gibson made around $106,000 monthly, but owed about that much in monthly expenses. At that time, TMZ said Gibson had around $900,000 in the bank.