Tyrese is apparently struggling to make the court-ordered $10,690 monthly child support payments to his ex-wife, thanks to the unforeseen SAG-AFTRA strike that took place in 2023. Not even a good accountant and a strict budget could have helped to ease the impact of the months-long writers and actors strikes last year, which the singer’s lawyer is arguing is the reason he recently fell behind on the custodial tab.
According to court documents, Tyrese paid the full amount in November 2023 but failed to do so again in December and then in January of this year. And without a “Fast & Furious” film production on the calendar, his income will continue to wildly fluctuate.
“The years in which he films [a ‘Fast & Furious’] franchise movie, his income is the highest in those years. In 2022, [Gibson] filmed the franchise movie in question [‘Fast X], and he has not filmed any segment in that franchise movie since 2022. Consequently, [Gibson’s] income has fluctuated downward since the trial in this case, and as expected, [Gibson] does not earn the same amount that he earned in August 2022,” wrote his lawyer, according to Radar Online.
“Neither [Gibson] nor anyone else in Hollywood could have predicted the major strikes in 2023 that affected everyone’s income who earns a living from the movie industry,” continued the lawyer.
Tyrese to pay his ex wife a lump sum of $169K in child support (after $46K was deducted for paying for her car)
— Glock Topickz (@Glock_Topickz) August 31, 2022
His monthly payment is $10K but since she filed for divorce in Sept 2020, the lump sum will cover from that point until now. (No spousal support was awarded) pic.twitter.com/Ipwfde68Jk
He further argued that the actor was “gravely impacted just as everyone who works in Hollywood. Because of the six-month work stoppage in the film industry in 2023, and because [Gibson] has not shot a major film since 2022, [Gibson’s] income has decreased to less than twenty percent (20%) of what [Gibson] was earning in August 2022, which [Gibson] would like to prove at a hearing on this matter.”
The Writers Guild of America went on strike in May and was joined by the actors union, SAG-AFTRA, in July 2023. Ironically, a month later, in August, the “Sweet Lady” crooner caught flak online when he purchased his girlfriend, Zellie Timothy, an all-white Range Rover Defender for her 28th birthday. The vehicle’s base price is set at $56,4000. The strikes ended in September and November, respectively.
Tyrese has been outspoken about his grievances throughout his and Samantha Lee’s drawn-out divorce proceedings. Along with child support for their daughter, Soraya Gibson, he was ordered to pay $169,000 in back child support as well $450,000 worth of his ex’s legal fees after she challenged their prenuptial agreement.
He has repeatedly bashed her for seeking $200,000 in monthly payments to care for their daughter, saying that even while married their expenses were never that costly. The heartache even inspired his recent album, “Beautiful Pain.”
They were married for three years when she filed for divorce in 2020 during the pandemic. Samantha has since admitted that her decision was the result of consulting with the wrong friends, and that in hindsight, she might not have ended the relationship if she had received guidance elsewhere.
The actor also pays $6,000 in child support for his older daughter, Shayla Gibson, whom he shares with his first wife, Norma Gibson. They were married for two years when they split in 2009. It is unclear is he was also been submitted reduced payments due to his alleged financial bind.
