Lamar Odom refuted the accusations of being a deadbeat father on Wednesday, June 30, in a lengthy Instagram post following his failed child support-related court appearance with his ex and the mother of his three children, Liza Morales. Odom and Morales, who have known each other since they were teenagers and dated on and off for 10 years, share two adult children: Destiny Odom, 23, and 19-year-old Lamar Odom Jr.
The former couple’s third child, Jayden Odom, tragically passed away at six months in 2006 from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, commonly known as SIDS. SIDS is the unexplained death of a seemingly healthy baby, which usually occurs while sleeping. The causes reportedly stem from defects in an infant’s brain that control breathing and arousal from sleep.
The initial post from the former Lakers forward came after a Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Matthew Cooper ripped Odom for failing to make child support payments even after recently participating in a celebrity boxing match against singer Aaron Carter, where he was allegedly paid $40,000.
According to Page Six, Morales and her attorney Abraham Borenstein claimed that the 41-year-old owes her $91,000 stemming from a 2015 settlement over their two children and has failed to make any payments since June 2020. Her attorney also stated that Odom fell behind paying Morales’ rent –where he allegedly owes about $83,000– on her Manhattan apartment shared with her two children from which they are currently facing eviction.
Odom addressed those allegations by posting a photo of the initial article on his Instagram page. He said while tagging Morales’ Instagram profile where he confirmed he was blocked from, “Back in the news on some BS!! truliza4u (I’m blocked) 🥴I never air out my personal business because it’s personal but I have had enough.”
He continued by saying that although he never married Morales, he has taken care of her from the moment she became pregnant with his children. Odom also added that even after he married his ex-wife Khloe Kardashian in 2009, he was still providing for Morales and paid her bills.
“I was never married to my kids mother. I took care of her from the second she became pregnant and even after I was married I still paid her bills. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE for a GROWN ASS WOMAN!! Once my children became adults my duties were done! I told her to GO TO WORK! MOVE into an affordable home, she didn’t listen and that is NOT on ME!”
Odom stated that he is clearing his name because he has been vilified by the media and been called a “deadbeat” for refusing to pay for Morales’ expenses anymore. He claimed that his ex is just as responsible for their adult children as much as he is.
He then discussed his financial status and denied making any money from the boxing match and owning a CBD company that Morales and her attorney previously claimed.
“Enough is enough. I do not get pension from the NBA until I’m 46. I do not own a CBD line, I did not get paid $40k from Celebrity Boxing 🥊 🥺 Am I working ? YES. Am I building a solid brand ? YES. Do I send my kids money monthly ? Hell yes! Do I support Liza? No !!! And I shouldn’t be made to either! So I will have my day in court, I was never served papers to appear and I will be filing an injunction to this bitter Judges order.”
Odom wrapped up his post by saluting the men and women taking care of their children by any means necessary. He also advised the women who he feels share similar characteristics to his ex to get some counseling.
“To the Liza’s who sit on their asses and expect a handout, who lie and manipulate their children, who use their children as pawns, who creates stories and scenarios to attract attention, may you seek healing and counseling for your brokenness ~ you need it. 🙏🏽.”
A short time later, following Odom’s Instagram response to the “deadbeat” accusations, Morales took to social media to confront the “lies and inaccuracies that were put on Instagram” head-on. She wrote in a three-page note post, “Hey IG fam, I had decided to come back on social media after a short break. Lies and inaccuracies were put on Instagram today by Lamar and his manager Tonita ByBee.”
She added, Lamar should have [shown] up to court yesterday. He could have raised his right hand, and provided the numbers and information to the judge. Actually, Lamar couldn’t do that, because he would have had lie to the court.”
Morales continued by bashing Odom and his manager Tonita ByBee for putting out a false narrative that she is a “difficult woman” and claimed that celebrity culture is a mind game. She completed the post by asking her ex to stop running to social media and “address the issues” at hand like a civilized adult.
