Worst Celebrity Custody Cases & Custody Battles Past 20 Years
We take a look at stars whose bitter breakups led to nasty public feuding over their kids.Breaking up is hard to do, but it’s even harder when kids, money and fame are involved.
Here’s a look at the most scandalous child-custody battles of the past 20 years.
The parents: Britney Spears and Kevin Federline
The offspring: Their sons, Sean Preston (born in 2005) and Jayden James (born in 2006)
The scandal: The bitter custody battle between Spears and ex-husband Federline included explosive accusations that she’s a drug and alcohol abuser who frequently puts her kids in danger.
The outcome: In October 2007, Spears made headlines around the world (again) when she became the first major female celebrity in years to lose custody of her children. She lost custody because she reportedly failed to follow a court order that required her not to drive without a valid license, and to undergo random drug testing and parental counseling.
The parents: Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger
The offspring: Their daughter, Ireland (born in 1995), who also goes by the nickname Addie
The scandal: After Basinger and Baldwin split up in 2000, they accused each other of being unfit parents. She said he was emotionally abusive, and he claimed she was mentally unstable. Their legal warfare resulted in a 2004 court judgment of shared custody on the condition that they not violate a gag order that prevents them from publicly talking about the case. In April 2007, an angry voice-mail recording of Alec Baldwin was leaked to the media. In the recording, Baldwin called Ireland “a thoughtless little pig.” As a result of the scandal, his visitation rights were temporarily suspended.
The outcome: After Baldwin publicly apologized for his outburst, his visitation rights were restored. His legal team accused Basinger of violating the gag order by leaking the recording, but the allegation was unproven in a court of law. Although the ex-couple has shared custody, the animosity between the two clearly remains.
The parents: Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards
The offspring: Their daughters, Sam (born in 2004) and Lola (born in 2005)
The scandal: Richards accused Sheen of being addicted to prescription drugs, gambling, prostitutes and porn, including having a fascination with underage girls. Sheen denied the allegations. In September 2007, Richards filed court papers requesting that Sheen not be alone with their children while the kids visit him. In February 2008, Sheen publicly blasted Richards for including their daughters in her reality show, and he asked people to boycott the show.
The outcome: In March 2008, Sheen and Richards announced that they reached a custody agreement. The specific terms of the agreement remain undisclosed.
The parents: David Hasselhoff and Pamela Bach
The offspring: Their daughters, Taylor (born in 1990) and Hayley (born in 1992)
The scandal: Hasselhoff alleged that ex-wife Bach has substance abuse problems, while Bach accused Hasselhoff of being a physically abusive alcoholic. In May 2007, a video surfaced of an intoxicated Hasselhoff eating a hamburger in a stupor while in the presence of older daughter Taylor, who can be heard in the video pleading with her father to stop being a drunk.
The outcome: Despite the scandalous video, Hasselhoff was awarded primary physical and legal custody of the kids in June 2007. Then in December 2007, Hasselhoff and Bach reached a settlement agreement to have joint custody of their kids.
The parents: Anne Heche and Coley Laffoon
The offspring: Their son, Homer (born in 2002)
The scandal: After reports surfaced that Heche was having an affair with her “Men in Trees” costar James Tupper, Laffoon filed for divorce in February 2007. While fighting over custody of their son, Laffoon accused Heche of being “bizarre and delusional” and having “poor parenting skills,” while Heche described Laffoon as a lazy good-for-nothing who would often leave Homer in the care of nannies while Laffoon would play poker. Heche also claimed that her ex-husband has a thing for going to strip clubs and masturbating to online porn.
The outcome: In June 2007, a court awarded the ex-couple joint custody of their son, and Heche was ordered to pay child support.
The parents: Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston
The offspring: Their daughter, Bobbi Kristina (born in 1993)
The scandal: Both parents have been in rehab multiple times, and Brown has a long criminal record that includes arrests for drug possession, driving under the influence, battery, violating parole and failing to pay child support. The ex-spouses, who broke up in 2006 and whose divorce became final in April 2007, feuded over custody of their daughter. In court, Houston said Brown was an “unreliable” parent. Brown denied it but at one point claimed that he was so broke that he couldn’t afford a lawyer.
The outcome: Houston was awarded sole legal and physical custody of Bobbi Kristina. However, Brown is disputing the decision, and in August 2007 he filed legal papers claiming, “Since Whitney has been awarded sole legal and physical custody of Bobbi Kris, she has attempted to eliminate me from Bobbi Kris’ life.” The ex-spouses are scheduled to give a deposition on October 22, 2007.
The parents: Burt Reynolds and Loni Anderson
The offspring: Their adopted son, Quinton (born in 1988)
The scandal: After the couple split up in 1993, they duked it out in court and in the tabloids. They accused each other of being unfaithful, and Anderson said that Reynolds was abusive.
The outcome: In their 1994 divorce settlement, the ex-couple agreed to shared custody of Quinton, and Anderson was awarded child support.
The parents: Michael Jackson and Debbie Rowe
The offspring: Their son, Michael Jr., a.k.a. Prince Michael (born in 1997), and daughter, Paris (born in 1998)
The scandal: Jackson’s ex-wife Rowe gave up legal rights to their children back in 2001. But after Jackson was arrested in 2003 for child molestation, she changed her mind and filed for temporary custody, claiming that Jackson was too distracted by the trial to be a good parent. She also expressed concerns over Jackson’s association with people from the Nation of Islam, whom she believed to be anti-Semitic. Even after Jackson was acquitted of the child abuse charges in 2005, Rowe continued her battle to win visitation rights.
The outcome: In September 2006, Jackson and Rowe reached a settlement out of court. Terms of the settlement were undisclosed, but Usmagazine.com reported that the settlement included Rowe giving up all visitation rights in exchange for reinstated alimony payments totaling approximately $750,000 a year. Jackson maintains legal and physical custody of the kids.
The parents: Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee
The offspring: Their sons, Brandon (born in 1996) and Dylan (born in 1997)
The scandal: During their 2002 custody battle, Anderson released a statement claiming, “I contracted hepatitis C while sharing a tattoo needle with my ex-husband Tommy Lee. Tommy has the disease and never disclosed it to me during our marriage.” Lee denied that he ever had the disease. In court documents, Anderson also accused Lee of being a “very angry, unstable man who presents a danger to others, particularly when he is using alcohol.” Lee, who spent time in prison in 1998 for assaulting Anderson, denied the allegation that he was a bad parent to their kids.
The outcome: The ex-couple reached an agreement in 2002 to have joint custody of the kids.
The parents: Lorraine Bracco and Harvey Keitel
The offspring: Their daughter, Stella (born in 1985)
The scandal: Although Bracco and Keitel were never married, they each sought full custody of Stella in a legal battle that spanned more than six years. Keitel accused Bracco of cheating on him with actor Edward James Olmos (whom Bracco later married and divorced), while Bracco claimed that Keitel was abusive. Things got uglier when Keitel accused Olmos of molesting a teenage girl.
The outcome: Bracco was awarded full custody in 1999, and Keitel was given visitation rights.
The parents: Paul McCartney and Heather Mills
The offspring: Their daughter, Beatrice (born in 2003)
The scandal: In the midst of their divorce, sexually explicit photos of Mills surfaced that were taken in the late ’80s. The tabloids also had a field day when people came forward saying that Mills had been a high-priced call girl several years before she married McCartney. Mills denied the allegations. Meanwhile, Mills accused McCartney of being physically and emotionally abusive to her when they had been married. McCartney denied the accusations.
The outcome: In March 2008, a divorce-court judge in London decided that Mills and McCartney would have joint custody of Beatrice. McCartney was ordered to pay child support to Mills.
The parents: Anna Nicole Smith and Larry Birkhead
The offspring: Their daughter, Dannielynn (born in 2006)
The scandal: Former lovers Smith and Birkhead were already involved in a paternity and custody dispute when she died of a drug overdose on February 9, 2007. Birkhead claimed he was Dannielynn’s biological father, but so did Howard K. Stern (Smith’s lawyer and companion), and at least three other men came forward saying they too could be Dannielynn’s biological father. Birkhead, Stern and Smith’s mother, Vergie Arthur, each sought sole custody of the child, and the three of them battled it out in court. In the midst of this custody battle, there were lurid allegations that Stern may have been responsible for Smith’s death, and that Arthur had been abusive to Smith as a child.
The outcome: In April 2007, a paternity test proved that Birkhead is the father of Dannielynn, and he was awarded custody.
The parents: Woody Allen and Mia Farrow
The offspring: Their adopted son Moses (born in 1978), their adopted daughter Dylan (born in 1985) and their biological son Satchel a.k.a. Ronan Seamus (born in 1987)
The scandal: Oscar-winning filmmaker Woody Allen and actress Mia Farrow had an unconventional relationship: They were an unmarried couple for more than a decade, but they never lived together. Allen and Farrow broke up in 1992, after Farrow discovered that Allen was having an affair with her adopted daughter Soon-Yi Previn, who was in her early twenties at the time. In 1992, Allen filed a lawsuit against Farrow to get custody of their two of their adopted kids and their biological son. During the custody battle, it was revealed that Allen was under investigation for allegedly sexually molesting Dylan. Allen denied the allegations, saying that the sex-abuse accusation was Farrow’s way of getting revenge on him. Ultimately, Allen was never charged or arrested for any sexual abuse.
The outcome: Allen lost the case and Farrow was awarded sole custody of the kids. Allen and Previn have been married since 1997, and they have two adopted daughters together.
The parents: Christie Brinkley and Peter Cook
The offspring: Their daughter, Sailor (born in 1998). Cook also adopted Brinkley’s son, Jack (born in 1995), from her previous marriage to third husband Rick Taubman.
The scandal: Former supermodel Christie Brinkley and architect Peter Cook seemed to be the quintessential beautiful couple who had it all. But the illusion was shattered in 2006, when Brinkley filed for divorce amid lurid reports that Cook had an affair with his then-assistant, Diana Bianchi, who was 18 at the time. Cook publicly begged for forgiveness and he admitted to the affair in court during his and Brinkley’s very public divorce trial, but he denied Bianchi’s allegations that he had initiated the affair. Cook also confessed under oath that he spent thousands on Internet porn during his marriage to Brinkley and that he offered Bianchi $300,000 to keep their affair a secret. During the trial, Alexa Ray Joel (Brinkley’s daughter from her marriage to second husband Billy Joel) testified that Cook was verbally abusive to her and that he once angrily dragged Alexis naked out of the shower and ordered her to clean up a mess. Cook denied her accusations.
The outcome: A little over a week after the trial began in July 2008, Brinkley and Cook reached an out-of-court-settlement, and she won sole custody of the kids.
