Halle Berry’s ex says son wants to testify in custody case

By ADAM S. LEVY, US SENIOR SHOWBUSINESS REPORTER

Published: 09:55 EDT, 13 October 2026 | Updated: 09:55 EDT, 13 October 2026

The custody case between Halle Berry and Olivier Martinez has taken a new twist as the French actor said in a court filing that their 13-year-old son Maceo is hoping to testify.

Martinez, 60, earlier this month obtained a temporary domestic violence restraining order against Berry, 60, based on his claims she had been abusive to their son in a September 26 incident which involved choking. Berry has denied all of the claims.

Martinez said in a responsive declaration filed Monday and reviewed by The Daily Mail that Maceo ‘was concerned that no one will believe him over his mother’ over what happened in the incident.

In his filing, Martinez said that Maceo ‘immediately took a picture of’ Berry ‘during the aftermath of the recent incident’ since ‘he has been roughed up’ on previous occasions and ‘no one believed him.’

Martinez said in the declaration: ‘He showed me the picture and explained that it was taken to try and provide something to show people so his complaint would not be summarily dismissed.’

The Daily Mail has reached out to legal representatives for both parties for further comment on the story.

Maceo ‘wants to speak with the court to provide his side of the story,’ Martinez said in the court filing.

Martinez said in the declaration that he feels his son ‘should have the opportunity to have his voice heard regarding what he experienced that night.’

In the court filing, Martinez said he felt Maceo would be ‘dissuaded from reporting problems or potential abuse in the future’ if not given a chance to tell his story to the court.

Martinez said in the declaration that a filing from Berry on October 5 was ‘retaliatory’ in nature, as she ‘went to great lengths to portray’ him ‘as someone who has not cooperated with Maceo’s medical team to his detriment’ to obtain an emergency filing.

Martinez said in the court filing that he didn’t do anything to obstruct his son from taking medication at the recommendation of his school, as Berry claimed.

He said in the legal filing that Maceo’s ‘pediatrician and psychiatrist’ determined ‘that Maceo would not be taking medication at this time.’

Berry was aware of the decisions made by the professionals but proceeded with a ‘false narrative’ anyway, Martinez said in the declaration.

Berry previously requested her 50/50 arrangement with Martinez be reinstated in a series of legal filings she made on October 5 after he was granted primary custody of their son.

In the declaration, Martinez described Berry’s claims as ‘an unfair summary of the record that cherry picked certain aspects of our lengthy litigation’ and left out findings and orders that did not reflect well on her.

He said in the legal filing that he felt the move was ‘to try and litigate in the court of public opinion,’ adding that she ‘has nearly unlimited financial resources to litigate this case and employs competent counsel.’

Last week, Berry finished a mandated online parenting program called Our Children First amid the ongoing custody battle, according to documents reviewed by The Daily Mail.

The next hearing in the case is slated for October 16.

Berry and Martinez met on the set of Dark Tide, which was filming in South Africa in 2010.

The two wed in 2013, the same year they welcomed their son, and split in 2016. The couple’s divorce was finalized in 2023, with the outcome being joint custody and Berry paying child support.