Tyrese Gibson Sued By Ex Wife Norma Mitchell For Alleged Defamation
By Afouda Bamidele on May 8, 2024 at 6:00 AM EDT
Tyrese Gibson's ex-wife, Norma Mitchell, has finally responded to his scathing remarks with a defamation lawsuit.
According to court documents obtained by The Blast, the actor's former spouse is suing him for multiple damages. She claims Tyrese not only defamed her with his public disclosure of private facts but also encouraged his fans to attack her.
Tyrese Gibson's Former Wife Is Pushing For Another Court Battle
Following the end of their marriage in 2009, Tyrese and Norma became infamous for their legal battles, including a lengthy custody fight for their daughter, Shayla. Now, the teenager is dragged into her parents' public spat over her private tuition fees.
The "Fast & Furious" star started the drama on April 30, sharing court documents that accused his ex-wife of owing over $25,000 in their daughter's tuition fees. He also slammed her for other offenses, crimes Norma vehemently refuted in her new lawsuit.
She is suing Tyrese for defamation, false light, and public disclosure of private facts. According to Norma, her former spouse is using his Instagram account to "cyber harass, defame, and dox" her in front of his 20.4 million followers.
"Gibson is livid purportedly because Mitchell cannot afford to contribute as much as he can towards their daughter's private high school," the document alleged, stressing that Tyrese didn't need to publicly air their differences after filing a motion against Norma.
Norma Mitchell Claims Tyrese's Actions Affected Their Daughter's Privacy
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Norma noted that Tyrese wasn't satisfied with filing the motion against her, so he turned to Instagram to publicly litigate the issue. She accused him of slamming her with "a cruel barrage of derogatory and defamatory posts."
These posts allegedly included false accusations that she had committed "blackmail, extortion, death threats, tax evasion, forgery, bank fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering." Norma also implied that Tyrese's actions affected their daughter's privacy.
"Gibson doxxed Mitchell and their daughter — a minor — by posting an unredacted copy of the Motion on Instagram," the documents explained, adding:
"The 176-page Motion contains Mitchell's private and confidential information including their daughter's full name, the name of her high school, birthdate, address."
Tyrese's Ex-wife Wants The Posts Taken Down
According to Norma, Tyrese knew his actions were wrong and seemingly acknowledged his faults in multiple posts by telling fans, "Before they make me take down this post and the link…GO THERE NOW!"
The link highlighted above led to a Google Drive with the unredacted Motion he had filed in Family Court. He also encouraged fans to read and download it, leading to what Norma claims are "vile comments" about her.
The TV personality's ex-wife implored the court to order Tyrese to take down these posts and her private information, stressing that she fears what he or one of his fans would do next.
Norma Is Suing For An Unspecified Amount In Compensation
Norma doubled down on her defamation claims, noting that Tyrese's lies had spread like wildfire. She claimed that she and her daughter "reluctantly found themselves in the public's eye under vexatious circumstances."
Additionally, she stressed that several news outlets had republished Tyrese's false allegations alongside their daughter's private information. In light of these crimes, Norma is asking for relief and judgment against her ex-husband in a jury trial.
She wants compensation for damages, including general and special, in an amount to be proven at trial.
She also wants interest at the maximum legal rate, the coverage of her attorney fees, and punitive damages in an amount that will punish Tyrese and deter such conduct in the future.
Inside Tyrese Gibson's Motion Against His Ex-Wife
Last month, The Blast reported that Tyrese had filed a motion against Norma over the repayment of their daughter's tuition fees. In the court documents, he accused his ex-wife of owing $25,605.50.
According to Tyrese, the court ordered the former couple to split the tuition fee payments equally. However, Norma failed to cover her share of the costs, forcing him to pay the total amount for the "academic years 2022-2023, 2023-2024, and 2024-2025."
The actor stressed that he had repeatedly tried to collect his money from Norma, but she refused to cough up any dime. To ensure a smooth repayment, Tyrese implored the court for the authority to deduct the money from his child support payments.
If approved, Tyrese will remove $5,000 monthly until Norma's debt has been erased. He also wants to continue this routine, noting that there's no guarantee his ex-wife would pay her half of their daughter's tuition fees in the future.