Former NBA player Lamar Odom may soon find himself inside a courtroom with his former girlfriend, Liza Morales, after she claimed Odom ceased child support payments in the summer of last year.
Page Six reported that the “Basketball Wives” star filed a lawsuit on Thursday, May 13, in Manhattan Supreme Court, alleging that “in June 2020, Lamar stopped providing any support save for sporadic amounts sent directly to LJ, placing their son in a very difficult situation.”
According to Morales, their 2015 agreement required that Odom pay an estimated total of $6,000 a month in child support, college fees and a $9 million life insurance premium. However, Morales said it had been a year since she’s seen any financial assistance from the former Los Angeles Lakers player, and she is now facing the possibility of being evicted from her Lower Manhattan apartment she shares with their two children: 19-year-old Lamar Jr. and 23-year-old Destiney. The two also were parents to another child, Jayden, who passed in infancy from SIDS, a disease described as the unexplained death, usually during sleep, of a seemingly healthy baby less than a year old, according to the Mayo Clinic.
The reality star’s other grievances include her inability to pay her $5,125 monthly rent and that Lamar Jr. could not attend a four-year college because his father stopped making payments. In documents obtained by the media outlet, records indicate that J. Hill Associates did bring eviction proceedings against Morales in December 2020, alleging she owed nearly $50,000 in back rent, plus interest, since February 2020. The fashion designer says that number now has skyrocketed to $78,000, and she is now looking to attain nearly $200,000 in “immediate relief.”
It’s unclear whether Morales’ lawsuit would hold up in court, given the discrepancies of when she owed back rent and when she claims Odom stopped sending payments. Still, Odom maintains that her allegations are untrue and that the reality star is just doing this “for clout.” Though he had no intentions of addressing the situation, the former athlete said he couldn’t “keep letting bitter women slander my name.”
In a lengthy statement, alongside a screengrab of the Page Six article about the suit, posted to his Instagram page on Saturday, May 15, Odom claims that he has taken care of Morales and their children “their entire lives.” He wrote, “My children are adults. I have paid child support for CHILDREN on time monthly for the past 18 years. My CHILDREN are ADULTS.”
Odom wrote that in the past decade Morales had taken zero initiative to seek income outside of what he provided through his child support payments. The star added, “She is smart, able and capable of working to support the lavish lifestyle she wants to live.”
Odom concluded his post, stating, “I love my adult children and I will support them and their dreams in every way possible. I pray that Liza finds healing and gets to a place of independence. I am no longer shamed by my past mistakes. I own who I am and with a clear mind and conscience I will present my case in court.”
The former couple met in high school and the two reportedly were engaged at one point. However, over the years, Morales has told news outlets that she knew their relationship was done following the death of Jayden and after facing Odom’s struggle with addiction.
