Halle Berry has taken her ex-boyfriend Gabriel Aubry to court for trying to change the appearance of their daughter and make her look “white.”
Oscar-winning actress Berry, 48, claims her former partner straightened their six-year-old daughter’s hair and highlighted it to make her look less African-American.
Berry and Aubry were in a relationship from 2005 to 2010 and both parents have joint legal custody of Nahla, following a bitter custody dispute.
Evidence presented by representatives of Berry in court included time-lapse photographs showing how her daughter’s hair had changed. According to the Telegraph, the actress also said Aubry had denied altering Nahla’s hair, so she had a strand analysed at a laboratory to prove her claims.
“I want both Gabriel and I to make decisions together that affect our daughter, her growth, her development and her general welfare,” Halle said in court documents.
“I continue to hope that Gabriel and I can find a way to work together to be successful co-parents,” she said, according to TMZ.
According to the Telegraph, Berry claimed Nahla could suffer “psychological damage” from the alterations, which may lead her to wonder why her natural appearance was “not good enough”.
In a win for Berry, a judge imposed a court order in a hearing yesterday saying neither parent can change Nahla’s natural hair texture or colour.
Nahla is one of two children; Berry’s other child is Maceo Robert Martinez, whose father is Olivier Martinez.
Berry and Martinez married last year.
Top Comments
Yes, because Halle's own hair looks so African-American - not!
I recall a hairdresser once telling me that a child should never have their hair dyed because it can irreparably damage their hair. I can't recall the cut off date but I think it was even young teens. I don't think she was talking about those wash out dyes but the more permanent ones.
I don't know if she was correct but I always recall her saying most reputable hairdressers won't do it.
Re hair straightening I know nothing of it, but I do recall seeing an Oprah special where they said it was a rather long and torturous process, I missed part if the report but I heard them say something like it took an entire day to do! I'm not sure if I misheard that though. Also it didn't seem to last long .
So assuming I am right about all this (and I admit be wrong) it sounds like dying and straightening hair is a really bad thing to do to a child, and if this is the case I can understand why she took action. It does look to me as if the child has abnormally pale and straighter hair for her race, but then I haven't seen other shots of her to compare before and after, and I'm also aware she is mixed race, so I guess my hair may look a bit different.