Tyrese Says He Was Never Thrown in Jail Over Child Support: “I Was Never Put in Handcuffs. I Was Never Arrested” [Video]

Tyrese Gibson is speaking out to clear the air after it was reported earlier this week that he was arrested for failing to pay child support. The actor and musician took to Instagram Live Wednesday night to set the record straight, explaining that he was never put in handcuffs or arrested, despite the misleading headlines that surfaced.

“You woke up to the headlines that I was arrested, which I was not,” Tyrese began in his live stream. “I was never put in handcuffs. I was never arrested.” The “Fast & Furious” star went on to clarify that while he did appear in court in Atlanta to address child support payments for his 5-year-old daughter, Soraya, he was never formally taken into custody.

Tyrese explained that during the court hearing, Judge Kevin Farmer expressed frustration over his failure to comply with the $10,000 monthly payments mandated since April 2023. Although the judge found him in contempt of court, Tyrese said that his lawyer, Tanya Mitchell Graham, acted quickly to prevent him from being detained.

“I was put in a room, and my lawyer, Tanya Mitchell Graham, quickly on her feet… appealed his ruling,” Tyrese recounted. “Because she was that quick on her feet, I was in there for two hours and I went home.” He emphasized multiple times that there were no handcuffs involved and that he was never actually arrested. The headlines, according to Tyrese, were exaggerated and misleading.

Tyrese further detailed his experience, saying, “I was never thrown in jail. After the judge made his ruling, I was put into a room and I basically had like five or six hours before I was supposed to be hauled off to jail.” This gave him a brief window to come up with the funds needed to avoid jail time. Thanks to his lawyer’s quick action, she “literally appealed his rulings that he had just gave me,” and he was allowed to leave without further incident.

Reports had stated that Tyrese was briefly taken into custody and that he needed to pay a total of $73,000, which included back child support payments and attorney fees for his ex-wife, Samantha Lee, to avoid further legal consequences. Tyrese clarified that while he was given a deadline to come up with the money or face jail time, his lawyer’s quick actions successfully appealed the judge’s ruling, allowing him to leave the courthouse without further incident.

Tyrese also took the opportunity to address the toll these legal battles have taken on him, both personally and professionally. He shared that the ongoing issues forced him to cancel several press appearances related to his new film “1992” and his album “Beautiful Pain.” He asked his followers for their prayers and support during what he described as a challenging and “unbearable” journey.

“I want you guys to pray for me. I want you guys to pray for my family,” he said emotionally. “I got co-stars that are looking at the headlines change from 1992 rave reviews into the headlines turning into ‘Tyrese arrested,’ which again, I was never arrested, no handcuffs.”

Tyrese has been very vocal about his dissatisfaction with Judge Kevin Farmer’s handling of his case. Previously, he had accused the judge of unfairly increasing his child support payments and has actively sought to have him removed from the case. On Instagram, he called out what he felt was an arbitrary decision to raise his payments from $3,600 to $10,690 per month, alleging that it violated his prenuptial agreement.

Despite the legal setbacks, Tyrese remains determined to fight back and protect his name. “I’ve worked my ass off since I was 14 years old to get here,” he said, expressing his frustration with what he believes is an attempt to make an example out of him for challenging the court’s decisions.