Not ‘Giving Him the Best That She’s Got’: Anita Baker in Court for Reneging on Divorce Settlement

Grammy Award-winning singer Anita Baker is fighting tooth and nail to avoid having to share the rights to royalty payments from her most popular songs with her now ex-husband, Walter Bridgfoth Jr. The two came to terms in their divorce settlement, but Baker is now refusing to sign the documents because she, “didn’t understand the documents and thought it wasn’t in her best interest to sign them,” Bridforth’s lawyer, Hanley Gurwin, says.

The songstress is expected back in court today following the drama-filled hearing on Thursday over the dispute.

“It’s typical of Anita,” Gurwin told the press this morning. “She is a very fine talent and she is a magnificent singer. But she is very emotional at times and likes to control her own destiny and doesn’t always want to follow the advice of her counsel.”

Chief Judge Pro Tem Lita M. Popke of Wayne County Circuit Court has ordered both sides back to the Coleman A. Young Building at 11 a.m. today.

The judge threatened to send Baker to jail if the singer continued to refuse to sign authorizations for record companies to release royalty payment information. Popke appointed Howard Hertz, a Detroit-area music industry expert, to analyze the documents and divide payments made to Baker during her marriage to Bridgforth, whom she divorced in 2007. Baker and Bridgforth have two teenage sons together.

It would be a shame to see our beloved Baker end up behind bars over this. Just sign the papers, Anita … just sign them. -gerald radford