What's The Worse That Could Happen: Ciara Sues Future For $15 Million
Just when you thought that Dwight Howard's ongoing legal battle with Royce Reed, which included a $9.2 million dollar lawsuit and repossession of her bank accounts and car, were the worst that could happen while co-parenting: in walks Ciara and Future.
This week, things went from bad to absolute worse between the former couple as Ciara filed a $15 million lawsuit claiming that Future is spreading lies about her in an attempt to ruin her career. She's also asking for an additional $250,000 in legal fees, and an order prohibiting him mentioning their son's name in the press.
Ouch!
Related: 7 Lessons We Can Learn From Ciara And Future's Parenting Fail
Ever since their public breakup following the birth of their son, we've seen their rocky co-parenting relationship tank, and it's been hard to watch. After keeping silent on their breakup amidst cheating rumors, Future broke his silence in a series of media interviews.
Well, it was more like a "Speak My Truth Tour," because the rapper was spilling all kinds of dirty tea about his ex-fianceé to nearly any interviewer who asked.
Like his infamous Huff Post Live chat, where he told Marc Lamont Hill that he felt "embarrassed" for Ciara after she covered Brides Magazine, even though they had already broken up.
We sat down and talked about it because we were like best friends and I told her how I felt. She was like, ‘Nah, I just took pictures.’ With the bridal thing… So it was like more of embarrassment and I felt embarrassed for her because you love someone you don’t want them to feel uncomfortable. And I was like I didn’t ever tell the media that we had called off the engagement and then when it started coming out, everybody assumed it was because of cheating. She never did an interview saying I cheated. I never did an interview saying I cheated.
Then he told The Breakfast Club in a separate interview that he wasn't feeling her new boo, Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson, being pictured pushing his son in a stroller. In fact, he didn't want Russell taking pics with his son at all.
"That's the number 1 rule. If I was a kid and my mama had a dude pushing me, I would have jumped out the stroller and slapped the sh*t out of him...You never do that in our community. You never even bring a man around your son. Like you don't even know this dude but for a few months and you bringing him around your son. Who does that? Nobody does that.""I'm not for the publicity stunts. Leave my son out of all the publicity stunts. Just leave him out of the relationship. Because we don't need your relationship for anything. I can take care of him on my own without any help. I don't need no help taking care of my son."
Ciara was pretty mum about her ex-fiance's media remarks, but she reportedly reached the end of her rope when he tweeted that she was keeping their son from him.
Why she's remained quiet about Future's remarks now makes total sense - she was collecting her receipts, and all of the details he disclosed in his interviews were listed in her suit.
Ciara says that Future's tattle-telling has ruined her reputation and is impacting her potential professional opportunities, which ultimately impacts the son they co-parent together.
Ciara also says in her suit that Future has not paid her his ordered $15,000 per month in child support since Baby Future's birth, and that his tweets casted her in a "negative and disparaging light." Especially when it comes to visitation, where she says that she's made their son available to him in whichever city they are both in at the same time, and on 19 different visitations (some spanning over the course of several days) since December 2014.
Ci's legal team even went as far as contacting Future's lawyers asking him for a retraction of his Tweets vilifying her as a mother, and an apology. Future has not responded, and no apology has been issued. In fact, as of press time, he hasn't responded to the lawsuit either.
What's sad about watching this tea spill in the public eye is that the most important person impacted by it is the one who suffers the most, and that's Baby Future. He's a little guy right now, so he doesn't understand what's happening. But young kids see things through Gods eyes, and while there is a lot they don't understand, they know when their parents are being less than cordial and hateful toward one another. That can hurt any child.
While Ciara and Future were at odds, Nick Cannon was building a successful co-parenting relationship following his divorce from Mariah Carey. He was able to share his lessons on a visit to The Ellen Show, where he chatted about how he was able to get through spending Thanksgiving with his children and Mariah, even though she had a new boyfriend. He told Ellen,
“It’s all about unconditional love...And knowing because they were so young, this is what they know: They know Mommy and Daddy still love each other, but more importantly they love us.”
He also told People that it was important for he and Mariah to remember that "family comes first" no matter what, and that was the key to their successful co-parenting relationship.
“...Just staying focused and putting priorities in order...Being able to just step out and control whatever you can control, and the things that you can’t, you just keep it moving."At the end of the day, that's what it's all about....You celebrate one another and celebrate family – you take time out for those moments."
Hopefully Ciara and Future can take some notes from Mariah and Nick, so that their most important asset does not miss out on valuable and precious moments with the two most important people in his life.
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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Robyn Dixon Confirms She Will Not Be Returning To 'The Real Housewives Of Potomac' After 8 Seasons
Robyn Dixon has officially confirmed the rumors of her exit from The Real Housewives of Potomac after eight seasons.
In the most recent episode of her podcast Reasonably Shady with co-host and her now former RHOP castmate and best friend Gizelle Bryant, Robyn revealed to listeners that Bravo did not ask her back. "It's reality. I was fired, for lack of better words," she said.
"And I will not sugarcoat the situation and say, 'Oh I am walking away' and this is a break or anything like this. This was a network decision. And, you know, I'm okay with it because nothing lasts forever."
News of Robyn's exit first made headlines in late March, as reported by The Jasmine Brand. On the Monday, April 15 episode of the Reasonably Shady podcast, Robyn explained the reason behind her decision to wait to confirm her departure now versus then. "I wanted to speak my own business, my own life, my own news, my own life, my own news, and I wanted to share it out of my own mouth when the time was appropriate.
"And I felt like the appropriate time would be once season 8 of The Real Housewives of Potomac was finished airing, which it is. now finished airing; the last reunion episode just went off last night. And I wanted to respect the network and respect the show and wait until the season ended, which I think makes sense," she continued.
Robyn's announcement comes shortly after news of Candiace Dillard Bassett's decision to 'take a break' from the franchise which came during the airing of the eighth season's three-part reunion special. Robyn has been a part of the Maryland version of The Real Housewives franchise since the beginning with viewers being privy to a lot of the series' vet's highs and lows, including her tax issues in season five where the reality star owed close to $90,000 in back taxes, and her engagement and subsequent remarriage with on-again-off-again partner turned husband Juan Dixon.
Some of the pair's trials as a couple became the center of controversy when cheating rumors swirled and the Dixons maintained a united front with both of them vehemently denying any outside affairs. In a slightly controversial move in 2023 following a season of denials of Juan's alleged infidelities, Robyn placed her transparency behind a podcast paywall instead of airing it out on the show, a decision that might have been seen as the beginning of the end for the 45-year-old.
The Real Housewives of Potomac has sparked much criticism over the years, largely stemming from viewers feeling as though the reality show suffers from colorism and perceived favoritism shown to particular cast members depending on skin tone and the emphasis on "fake" storylines instead of focusing on what is real amongst the group of women.
Some of those pain points were explored during the latest season's reunions with the cast members not getting very far in understanding their colorism experiences. "There's no better group of Black women on the Bravo network to talk about that than us," fellow housewife Karen Huger said in the explosive conversation in the second part of the reunion special.
"No, actually, that's very incorrect," Wendy Osefo interjected at the time, "because if you want to talk about colorism, then you need to have the range to talk about it. And a lot of people on this couch, whether you want to admit it or not, do not have the range."
Candiace has been very vocal about her perspective on colorism as it relates to the cast and it is speculated that that as well as favoritism played a part in the reason she announced her own departure from the Bravo series on March 25 after six seasons. Though she emphasized it was "not a farewell," but a "'see you later.'"
The 37-year-old singer told PEOPLE exclusively, "As I embark on a new chapter after six remarkable years with The Real Housewives of Potomac, I am filled with gratitude for the enriching friendships, personal growth, and moments of introspection that have defined this journey."
She continued, "With a whirlwind of new opportunities and responsibilities on my plate, I have decided to take a break from RHOP."
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Featured image by Mindy Small/Getty Images