The ugliest custody fight in Hollywood just gained an unexpected voice: Halle Berry’s firstborn, who put what she had to say under penalty of perjury.
The California court file grew by one sworn declaration October 3, when Nahla Aubry, 18, Berry’s daughter with Gabriel Aubry, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court to defend her mother against Olivier Martinez’s allegations, per documents obtained by Page Six. It is her first public word on the fight, and her central statement could not be plainer: “I have never seen my mom hit, slap, choke, grab, or physically abuse Maceo in any way.“
The allegations she answers are Martinez’s filings, which claim Berry choked their 13-year-old son during a September 26 argument over a virtual reality game. A judge granted Martinez a temporary restraining order October 1 limiting Berry to daytime visits on set days, an order that amounts to no finding that any abuse occurred. The October 16 hearing will test all of it.
Nahla’s declaration goes at the specifics. “I have never seen my mom place her hands around Maceo’s neck, put him in a chokehold,” she swears, adding, “I never observed anything abusive about her parenting,” describing Berry as loving and devoted, strict about rules and respect. She spoke with her mother and brother by phone September 29, three days after the alleged incident, while Berry drove him to school, and says Maceo “sounded happy for me and didn’t seem upset about anything.“
The allegations left her “shocked, very sad, and very upset,” she writes, and heartbroken for her brother: “I want very much to speak with my brother and check on him.“
She also answers the filings’ claim that Berry made racially charged remarks with the only sentence that needs: “My mom is biracial, I am biracial, and Maceo is biracial.“
Berry’s response, filed October 5, vehemently denies abusing Maceo physically, emotionally, or otherwise, insisting “I would never hurt our child,” describing the teen as grown “angry and combative” toward her, and blaming Martinez’s “continued attempts to align Maceo with him and against me.” She submitted video she says contradicts his account and is asking the court to restore their 50/50 schedule. Her attorney Marina Beck has called Martinez’s filing “meritless and misleading.“
Martinez maintains through his filings that his only concern is Maceo’s health and safety, and he is seeking sole custody.
The Sister’s Sworn Word
The reactions leaned hard toward Berry, much of it unprintable here, and the wisest voice was also the most liked: “All I know is, I wasn’t there, and neither were y’all.” The counterweight drew the declaration’s honest limit without concluding a thing: “Just because she personally didn’t see it, doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. Of course everyone is innocent till they are proven guilty so I will not jump to conclusions.“
Both parents have lawyers, filings, and versions. Nahla has eighteen years inside that family and a declaration that simply says what she never saw.
October 16 decides who the court believes.
