Djimon Hounsou is facing another legal challenge from his ex, Ri’za Marie Simpson, who is asking a judge to hold him in contempt over an alleged violation of their custody arrangement.
Simpson filed a petition earlier this month claiming Hounsou planned to take their two children from Georgia to California without providing the advance notice required under a previous court order.
According to Simpson’s filing, Hounsou’s attorney informed her on August 15 that he intended to make the trip with the children. She claims that notice came at best about an hour and a half before the planned travel.
That’s a major point of contention because Simpson says the existing custody order requires either parent planning an out-of-state trip with the children to provide advance written notice, including travel dates and information about where the children will be staying.
Simpson argues that the alleged short notice did not satisfy those requirements.
She is also challenging the trip itself, claiming the California travel was not in the children’s best interests because it would cause them to miss their entire third week of school.
Simpson is asking the court to find Hounsou in willful contempt of court. She also wants him ordered to cover her attorney’s fees and expenses related to the latest court battle.
The dispute comes months after Hounsou filed for joint legal and physical custody of their two children. Their son was born in 2022, while their daughter was born in 2023.
At that time, Simpson agreed to shared legal custody but asked the court to give her primary physical custody. She cited the parents’ employment and travel histories in support of her request.
The custody case has also followed a separate legal issue involving Simpson. About a month before Hounsou’s January custody filing, Simpson was arrested and charged with simple assault after allegedly punching Hounsou in the face.
Hounsou has not yet publicly responded to Simpson’s latest filing. His representatives were contacted for comment, but no response was provided in the supplied material.
For now, the latest dispute puts the focus back on the couple’s custody arrangement — and whether the alleged California trip complied with the court’s notice requirements.
