Actor Tyrese Gibson was jailed by a Georgia court on Sept. 9 for failing to make child support payments, according to court records.
The 45-year-old star—best known for his role in the “Fast & Furious” franchise—owed $73,525.73 in child support, according to an order for incarceration obtained by NTD News. He was given 48 hours to pay off the balance.
“The Court HEREBY ORDERS that the Respondent shall be taken into custody and incarcerated until such time as he purges himself of contempt by making a payment in the purge amount or until further order of this Court,” the order stated.
In a post on X on Sept. 10, Gibson confirmed he had been arrested.
“Getting arrested wasn’t fun as a matter of fact it was very traumatic,” he said. Gibson also alleged the presiding judge in the case was biased against him.
“One would ask why does this judge Kevin M Farmer HATE me so much?” he wrote in the same post.
A notice of intent to appeal was filed just 10 minutes after the Monday ruling, requesting the decision be stayed, records obtained by NTD show.
Divorce and Family Law Attorney Beverly L. Cohen, who has represented Tyrese Gibson in the case, told NTD that Mr. Gibson was never detained at Fulton County Jail and is not currently in custody. She said an official appeal has not yet been filed.
Tyrese Gibson’s ex-wife Samantha Gibson filed for divorce in 2020. According to earlier court filings, Gibson has been required to pay $10,690 in monthly child support to his ex-wife since September 2022.
However, he only paid $3,500 each month from July to October of 2023, and owed $28,760 at the time, according to the filings. In an October 2023 decision, Judge Farmer had ordered Gibson to pay the remaining amount plus around $400 in interest.
According to Ms. Gibson’s attorney, Adam Gleklen, she had requested that her ex-husband not be arrested, but Judge Farmer ruled otherwise. In an emailed statement to NTD, Gleklen explained that Tyrese Gibson had only paid the full amount he owes in child support 3 times in the 25 months since the divorce trial, which concluded on Aug. 30, 2022.
The recent ruling was the third time Mr. Gibson has been held in willful contempt for not paying child support, Gleklen said.
“Samantha Gibson has only ever wanted to effectively co-parent with Tyrese for the benefit of their daughter. She sincerely desires an end to the 4 years of litigation so they can each move forward with their lives for the best interest of their daughter,” Gleklen wrote.
In his recent post on X, Mr. Gibson included a link to appeal documents dated May 13, 2024.
It was not clear whether the documents had been filed in court, but they highlight arguments for the basis of the appeal. On behalf of Gibson, his attorneys wrote that he has been supporting his daughter since birth—outside of the court system—at the “highest Basic Child Support Obligation.”
The appeal documents argue that a court awarding a retroactive lump sum in child support—despite Mr. Gibson’s voluntary support during the divorce case—was “punitive and will undoubtedly send a chilling effect to other divorcees who voluntarily financially support their minor child(ren) during a divorce proceeding.”
In a recent Instagram post, Mr. Gibson said his new book about the family law court system—titled “BlackMail of the BlackMale”—is coming out soon.