Actress Halle Berry has taken her ex-beau, French model Gabriel Aubry, to court, alleging that he tried to alter their daughter’s appearance to make her look less African American.
Berry claims that Aubry highlighted and flat-ironed their six-year-old daughter’s curly hair in an effort to make her look white, something that could inflict “potential psychological and physical damage.”
According to court documents, Berry states this could cause their daughter to have doubts about her natural appearance. she wrote, via Independent:
I want both Gabriel and I to make decisions together that affect our daughter, her growth, her development and her general welfare.
I continue to hope that Gabriel and I can find a way to work together to be successful co-parents. It was with regret that I concluded that I had to seek the court’s intervention on these issues, but until Gabriel recognizes the meaning of joint legal custody and how it is implemented, it appears that the court will be my only resort to safeguard Nahla’s best interests.
Berry was unable to make it to the hearing Monday, but to her dismay, a judge ruled that neither parent could change their daughter’s hair from its natural state.
Berry is also reportedly asking to have the child support she pays to Aubrey reduced to $3,800 from $16,000 per month. She claims that the model uses her money to invest in his personal fitness and to buy clothing, electronics, and car insurance.
In 2011, Berry told Ebony Magazine that she feels like her daughter is black, but will let her decide how she wants to be perceived. She said:
I’m not going to put a label on it. I had to decide for myself, and that’s what she’s going to have to decide–how she identifies herself in the world. And I think, largely, that will be based on how the world identifies her. That’s how I identified myself.
But I feel like she’s black. I’m black and I’m her mother, and I believe in the one-drop theory.
Berry has sported various hairstyles throughout the years; many of those include highlights and straightening:
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