Olivier Martinez went to the Los Angeles courts with a petition that landed like a bombshell in Hollywood.
The French actor requested a temporary restraining order against his ex-wife, Halle Berry, and sole custody of Maceo, their 12-year-old son. According to court documents cited by the press, it all allegedly happened on September 26, 2026, after Berry scolded the boy for playing with virtual reality goggles. Martinez maintains that the argument escalated until she jumped on the boy, put her hands around his neck, and strangled him.
According to his account, the boy himself called him to come pick him up and said he did not want to return to his mother’s home because he felt traumatized. Martinez adds that the next morning, Berry apologized by text, and that similar episodes had allegedly occurred over the past year and a half, involving chokeholds learned in mixed martial arts that she presented as jokes.
The actress’s legal team responded unequivocally. Her attorney, Marina Beck, called the lawsuit baseless and deliberately misleading, accused Martinez of a history of erratic, possessive, and violent behavior, and said Berry is deeply saddened and will continue fighting for Maceo’s best interests.
For now, these are allegations in a court filing, with no verdict or independent verification. The two, who met while filming Dark Tide in 2010 and married three years later, are now fighting over the most delicate matter of all: their son.