Tyrese Gibson is being asked to hand over $83,000 by an author from Texas who penned a book about his mother’s 27-year struggle with alcoholism.
The author behind the book, Cynthia Banks, says the actor-singer trashed her reputation by publicly trashing her for agreeing to write the book.
To be clear, Banks befriended Gibson’s mother, Priscilla, a few years ago, according to TMZ.
The celebrity gossip site claims that someone asked Banks to write the book and she simply agreed to the new job. The book, Drunk for 27 Years, was released in 2009.
According to Banks, all of the Gibson children were willing to cooperate and tell their sides of the story in order for the book to be authentic and fair.
Tyrese, on the other hand, wasn’t willing to help out.
Banks says he spoke poorly of her in public and made her out to be a villain who was trying to profit off his mother’s struggle with alcohol abuse.
She finally filed a lawsuit against Gibson in Texas, but he never responded to the lawsuit, which resulted in the judge awarding her $75,000.
Now that number has grown to $83,000, thanks to interest charges because Gibson still hasn’t paid up.
The author is now pursuing Gibson in California and asked an L.A. judge to force him to hand over the money.
Gibson told TMZ that all he wants to do is protect his mother.
“I did what I had to do to protect my mother from this woman who took advantage of her while she was in rehab,” he told the celebrity gossip site.
Meanwhile, Gibson also suggested that he isn’t going to be giving the author the cash any time soon.
The 35-year-old actor and R&B singer says he wasn’t aware of the initial lawsuit being filed.
Meanwhile, Gibson said he and the rest of his family are ready to “make sure this goes away” so that their mother can continue on her journey of sobriety.
