Halle Berry Custody Hearing Oct. 16: Son May Testify

A Los Angeles judge hears Halle Berry and Olivier Martinez on Friday, Oct. 16, in the custody fight over their 13-year-old son. According to TMZ's reading of court documents, the boy has been allowed to testify, with his testimony limited to the request for a restraining order against his mother.

What the court has ordered

Martinez, 60, filed for a domestic violence restraining order on Thursday, Oct. 1. He alleges that on Sept. 26 Berry grabbed their son by the neck and choked him during an argument at her home, and he is asking for sole custody. A judge granted a temporary restraining order the same week, People and Newsweek reported, restricting Berry's time with the boy until the hearing. A temporary order does not decide whether the allegations are true.

IBTimes, citing TMZ, reported that the order was later modified to leave Berry's decision-making authority over her son's mental health care and education in place.

What Berry says

Berry's attorney, Marina Beck, told Fox News Digital that the filing is "entirely meritless and deliberately misleading." Beck said Martinez has repeatedly violated court orders and interfered with the boy's therapeutic and educational care.

According to TMZ, as relayed by IBTimes, Berry denies putting her hands on her son's neck or restricting his breathing. She says the exchange escalated when he pushed her, and that she has video. On Oct. 5 she filed an emergency request asking the court to restore their earlier 50-50 custody arrangement. In his latest filing, Martinez calls that request "retaliatory," TMZ reported.

Why Friday is different

Before the Oct. 14 TMZ report, the question was whether the boy would be heard at all. Martinez's filing said the boy wants to testify and tell the judge where he wants to live. TMZ's Oct. 14 report says the court has permitted testimony but kept it to the restraining order request. That limit comes from TMZ's account of the documents. Nobody else has reported the wording.

What is confirmed and what is not

Confirmed by court records as reported by People, Newsweek and Fox News Digital: Martinez filed on Oct. 1, a judge issued a temporary order, and a hearing is set for Oct. 16.
Allegation: Martinez's account of the Sept. 26 incident. Berry's side denies it.
Not independently verified: the video Berry says she has, and what the boy has told either parent.

Berry and Martinez married in 2013 and separated in 2015. They went through court-ordered co-parenting therapy in 2024, People reported.

The temporary order stays in place until the hearing. The coverage reviewed describes no footage released publicly.