A judge in Georgia on Monday ordered actor and singer Tyrese Gibson jailed over his failure to make child support payments.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Kevin M. Farmer found Gibson, the “Fast & Furious” franchise star, in contempt for failing to pay more than $73,000 in child support, according to an order for incarceration reviewed by NBC News.
“The Court HEREBY ORDERS that the Respondent shall be taken into custody and incarcerated until such time as he purges himself of contempt by making a payment in the purge amount or until further order of this Court,” court records said.
Gibson, 45, owed $73,525.73 in child support, according to the order.
A lawyer who represents Gibson would not comment. Representatives for Gibson could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon.
It was unclear whether and for how long Gibson was detained. He posted a story on his Instagram page that seemed to acknowledge he was arrested.
“Getting arrested wasn’t easy… As a matter of fact it was very traumatic...,” he said. He then asked why the judge and his ex-wife’s lawyer hate him so much.
Gibson’s ex-wife, Samantha Gibson, also known as Samantha Lee, filed for divorce in 2020. Court documents in the case indicate he is legally appealing having to pay $10,690 per month in child support, which is how much he was paying in child support for another child from another relationship, according to court records.
Gibson did not appear in the database for inmates in the Fulton County Jail on Tuesday. Attempts to reach jail personnel were unsuccessful.
Gibson and his ex-wife have a daughter who was born in 2018, according to court records.
Samantha Gibson's attorney, Adam Gleklen, said Tuesday that she did not want her ex-husband ordered to jail but that he has very rarely met the full child support payments since late 2022.
"Mr. Gibson has chosen not to abide by the court’s child support order and he was held in willful contempt now for the third time," Gleklen said in a statement. "He only paid full child support three times in 20 months.”
Less than 10 minutes after the judge ordered Gibson jailed, his attorneys appealed the decision, Gleklen said.
