Another day, another pair of celebrity parents get into a nasty (very public) custody battle.
In new court documents, Baggage Claim star Paula Patton, 41, claims that officials from her son’s school contacted child services after their 6-year-old son, Julian, allegedly confided in his principal and school mediator that his famous father, Robin Thicke had hurt him.
“I received a call from Julian’s school … from [the] Principal and Mediator … they advised as to comments and statements Julian made to them about the way [Thicke] hits and punishes him in private,” Patton claims in the doc. “I confirmed that I had been hearing the same things, and that I did not know how to handle and was very concerned. … [The] principal and [mediator] called Department of Child and Family Services on Jan. 4, 2017, to report their concerns about [Thicke’s] abuse of Julian.”
Patton went on to claim that since the investigation began, Julian was made aware that “[Thicke] is being told about Julian’s complaints, Julian’s behavior has become very concerning.”
Patton alleges in the document that Thicke has “spanked … yelled at … and grabbed [Julian] by the neck” before and that she’s “concerned that [Thicke] is engaging in alcohol and drug use while Julian is in his custody,” and that Thicke once “came to Julian’s kindergarten graduation … clearly intoxicated … [at] 8:30 a.m.” Meanwhile, Us Weekly reports that school officials have also made similar claims in their own declarations.
On the flip side, Thicke’s legal counsel, Angela Pierce di Donato, is denying all accounts of abuse, alleging that the Grammy nominee is concerned about Julian’s well-being as he “only shows any evidence of emotional harm when questioned by Paula or in her presence,” People reports.
Another source close to the custody war tells People, “Julian has made it clear he does not feel safe in his father’s presence, a fact confirmed today by the Malibu Sheriff’s Department determination — with Mr. Thicke present — that the child needed to remain with his mother.”
As previously reported, things took a turn for the worse after Patton denied Thicke access to their son when she filed for an emergency order asking a judge to restrict the singer’s time with his son — including supervised visits during the day hours — citing possible abuse. Though Thicke admitted to “light spanking” at the time, he revealed in court documents that “it is consistent with the law — open hand on the butt.”
The “Blurred Lines” crooner went on to allege that Patton is throwing him under the bus simply because she was denied entrance to his father, Alan Thicke’s, funeral.
“It is my belief that Paula holds residual anger toward me because I and my family would not permit her or her family to attend the funeral of my father on Dec. 20, 2016,” the singer alleges in the papers. “Paula did not have a positive relationship with my father … As such, she was not welcome at his funeral. It is my belief that Paula only wanted to attend because it would have resulted in additional public exposure for her.”
In the meantime, the DFCS investigation is ongoing.
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