Singer and actor Tyrese Gibson is facing the serious prospect of jail time as his ex-wife, Samantha Gibson, moves to compel payment of nearly half a million dollars in outstanding legal fees stemming from their divorce proceedings.
According to court documents filed on Friday, July 25, Samantha has accused the Fast & Furious star of deliberately flouting a court order that mandated him to pay $399,512 in attorney fees. This amount has since swelled to $492,651 due to accrued interest.
In her complaint, Samantha asserted that "Mr. Gibson has the ability to pay the court-ordered attorney’s fees and accrued interest and chooses to ignore the court’s order," characterizing his actions as a "blatant disregard" for the court’s judgment.
As reported by Billboard, Samantha is now petitioning the court to find Tyrese in criminal contempt and impose a 20-day jail sentence as a punitive measure for the ongoing non-payment. The former couple, whose marriage concluded in 2020, finalized their divorce in 2023. The judge's ruling at the time had explicitly directed Tyrese to cover a total of $399,512 in legal expenses, specifically allocating $217,731 to The Gleklen Law Firm and $181,421 to Bloom Lines Alexander.
However, the period since the divorce finalization has been anything but smooth. Last year, Tyrese was briefly taken into custody over an unrelated failure to pay child support. Shortly thereafter, one of the aforementioned law firms initiated action by filing a lien against his Atlanta property to secure the unpaid debt. Samantha's legal team indicates that this latest court maneuver is specifically aimed at compelling the actor to finally settle his long-standing financial obligation.
