Halle Berry’s 13-year-old son, Maceo, has been permitted to testify in the ongoing legal dispute between the actress and her ex-husband, Olivier Martinez, although a judge has restricted what he can address in court.
According to court documents obtained by TMZ, Maceo’s testimony will be limited to Martinez’s request for a domestic violence restraining order. The judge also directed that the teenager testify in a closed courtroom, with only the parties, their attorneys and court personnel present.
The decision comes amid a contentious dispute over allegations involving the former couple’s son.
Martinez is seeking a restraining order against Berry, alleging that she physically attacked Maceo during an argument while he was playing a virtual reality video game. According to his account, Berry jumped on the teenager, placed her hands around his neck and choked him.
Berry has denied hurting her son. The allegations have not been established as facts by the court.
Martinez is also seeking sole custody of Maceo and has asked the court to require Berry to stay away from him.
Berry had opposed allowing their son to testify, arguing that Martinez had been coaching the teenager on what to say. She has also questioned whether Maceo’s account would provide a reliable picture of the alleged incident.
In her response to Martinez’s restraining order request, Berry argued that Maceo has a “personal interest in minimizing his own conduct and shifting responsibility to others,” according to the documents cited by TMZ.
The actress also raised concerns about what she described as a longstanding family dynamic in which she has been responsible for enforcing rules while Martinez has taken a more permissive parenting role.
Berry argued that this dynamic has caused Maceo to view her as the “bad guy” and his father as the “good guy.” She expressed concern that the teenager’s testimony could reflect perceptions shaped by their family relationship rather than an accurate account of the incident in question.
The judge’s decision allows Maceo to testify on the limited issue of the restraining order request, but the closed-court arrangement will restrict who can be present during his testimony.
The case highlights the competing accounts presented by Berry and Martinez as the court considers the requested protective order and related custody issues. No final outcome on the restraining order or custody request is established by the information currently available.
