69

Custody war between rapper DDG and actress-singer Halle Bailey took a dramatic turn this week after a judge in Los Angeles barred each parent from posting about the other or their little one on social media. The injunction had long been in effect for DDG, but Thursday’s order put Bailey in the same category. The two, once so famous for romantic Instagram video clips and YouTube vlogs, are now legally silenced on the internet, their messy custody battle now deleted from the web.

Behind the Scenes: A First-Time Judge, A Nervous Room

After being tipped off by Cousin Tino, whose tweets live-streamed proceedings in the courtroom, Judge Angela Davis called the case and didn’t hesitate to lay down the rules. The atmosphere became increasingly tense the instant DDG’s mother, as a witness, had to leave outside, and the rapper’s crew looked visibly shaken.

The lawyers from both sides objected to postponing the case, but Judge Davis did not budge and scheduled the second hearing for the 15th of October. October is to be a turning point wherein both extended visitation calendars for both parents as well as extended social media restrictions are on the agenda for consideration.

Prosecution: “DDG Turned Paparazzi Into”

Prosecutors alleged that DDG faked paparazzi photos on a recent ice cream date with his son, making him seem as though he’s cashing in on fatherhood for publicity’s sake. They noted the son shouldn’t be on social media at all and spoke about the manner that DDG’s massive fan base routinely schedules harassment of Halle Bailey every time that she enters his sphere of influence. The prosecutorial bottom line is that, besides keeping DDG from placing the youngster on the net, his visitation rights must be closely monitored as a means to try and avoid “performance parenting” in the presence of a webcam.

Defense: “He Can’t Control the Cameras”

DDG’s lawyer responded by saying that his client had no way of keeping the paparazzi from trailing behind him outside and ruling out the notion of DDG orchestrating photo ops. The defense then responded with a request for overnight visitation and calling for a formal schedule: every Saturday, alternating Sundays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and a mid-week Wednesday visit.

Even his DDG employees permitted visits in his office with monitoring, provided the monitoring was only to prevent photography or video shooting issues but not into his parenting life.

Judgment: Speechlessness, Screens Closed, and a Monitor on High Alert

Ultimately, Judge Davis voted in support of discretion. She made the presence of a monitor effective on visits and adopted the social media restriction by putting both parents on restriction from social media postings on their son.

For the near future, DDG is only granted supervised visitation, potentially more time on the weekends in the long shot that things go uninterrupted until the October hearing. Bailey, refused her right of custody, has also been silenced on social media as well.

Related