A Los Angeles County judge granted a temporary restraining order against Halle Berry on Thursday after her ex-husband, Olivier Martinez, accused the actress of choking their 12-year-old son and asked the court to give him sole custody.
Martinez filed the request in Los Angeles Superior Court on Oct. 1, 2026, over an alleged Sept. 26 confrontation at Berry's home. The judge ordered Berry to remain 100 yards from Martinez and limited her contact with their son, Maceo, to court-ordered visitation pending an Oct. 16 hearing.
Berry, 60, has denied the allegations through her attorney, who called Martinez's filing "entirely meritless and deliberately misleading."
According to Martinez's declaration, Maceo called him on the night of Sept. 26 and asked to be picked up from Berry's home. Martinez claims he heard his son panicking and Berry yelling in the background.
Martinez alleges the dispute began while Maceo was playing a virtual reality game in his bedroom. He claims Berry entered the room, criticized their son, and began pushing him before the confrontation escalated. Martinez alleges Berry then grabbed Maceo around the neck and choked him.
Martinez said Maceo got away and continued asking his father to pick him up. When Martinez arrived, he claims their son left Berry's home with his belongings.
The filing includes text messages Martinez says were exchanged with Berry after the confrontation. In one message attributed to Berry the following morning, she wrote, "I feel terrible about what happened last night as I know he does as well."
Martinez also alleges there were earlier incidents involving physical, verbal, and emotional abuse, including occasions when Berry put Maceo in chokeholds. He is seeking sole legal and physical custody and restrictions on Berry's contact with their son.
The temporary order allows Berry to see Maceo during court-ordered visitation, currently two days each week and every other weekend. She must remain sober in his presence and submit to sobriety testing before, during or after visits if required under the order.
Berry's attorney, Marina Beck, rejected Martinez's account and pointed to the former couple's previous disputes over their son's care.
"There is voluminous evidence, including numerous judicial rulings, that Olivier Martinez repeatedly violated court orders and interfered with necessary therapeutic and educational interventions to the detriment of his and Halle Berry's minor son Maceo," Beck said in a statement.
Beck also accused Martinez of a history of "erratic, possessive and violent behavior" and said Berry would continue fighting for their son's best interests.
Berry and Martinez finalized their divorce in 2023 and agreed to share legal and physical custody of Maceo.
In 2024, Berry sought sole legal custody or authority to make certain decisions involving their son's education and treatment, accusing Martinez of interfering with educational and therapeutic interventions. Martinez disputed her allegations. A judge later sided with Berry in a separate dispute over his participation in court-ordered co-parenting therapy.
The temporary restrictions remain in place while the custody dispute moves forward and do not determine whether Martinez's abuse allegations are true. Berry and Martinez have also been ordered to participate in confidential mediation before the Oct. 16 hearing, when the court can consider whether the current restrictions should continue or be changed.
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