In what many say will undoubtedly be one of the “ugliest” custody battles in Hollywood, actress Halle Berry and her baby daddy ex-boyfriend/male model Gabriel Aubry both appeared in Los Angeles Court on Tuesday for an emergency closed-door hearing on whether or not, as reported, Aubry was involved in a physical altercation with the nanny to the couple’s 3-year-old daughter Nahla.
Alliance Kambem, who has been Nahla’s nanny since June 2011, accused Gabriel Aubry of violently pushing her while she held Nahla in an incident last Wednesday. According to her sworn statement released by the court, Kambem claims she is afraid of Aubry’s “dangerous and aggressive behavior.”
Nanny Alliance Kambem filed for a restraining order against Aubry, claiming she was “psychologically traumatized” on the job and that within a week of working, Aubry became verbally abusive and aggressive toward her. She claims that he “violently pushed her” on Jan. 18, thus prompting the court session.
However, the judge her request for the order, claiming there was no proof of future harm and that she failed to show proof of harassment.
But the drama did not end there. Nanny Kambem also filed criminal charges against Gabriel Aubry for allegedly pushing her while she held Nahla. Those claims have prompted a criminal investigation against Aubry for child endangerment and battery.
In another twist… Kambem’s unsubstantiated claims are what Halle Berry used on Tuesday to ask the judge to prohibit Aubry from having any contact with their daughter. Reportedly, Berry claims to be afraid for their daughter’s safety in Gabriel Aubry’s presence.
Halle Berry and Gabriel Aubry have been locked in a bitter custody battle since their relationship ended in April 2010. During that case, they were granted shared custody, so long as they both retain the services of a nanny.
The nanny’s duties are written into the custody order, Alliance Kambem said.
HERE IS THE TESTIMONY GIVEN BY THE NANNY:
“I believe that Mr. Aubry resents the court order requiring that he have a nanny, and that his resentment has developed into dangerous and aggressive behavior towards me, particularly when I am in the presence of Nahla,” Kambem said. “I am truly fearful he will hurt me and in the process hurt Nahla as well.
Aubry has been “verbally abusive and aggressive towards me,” she said.
“He would say things to me like, ‘What are you doing here?’ ‘You are a spy,’ ‘You report everything I say,’ ‘You’re not even doing your job.’ ‘Nahla doesn’t like you, she doesn’t want you here,’ an ‘I don’t need a nanny, I don’t want you here,'” her statement said.
Her sworn declaration describes an incident last week when she went to Aubry’s apartment in Los Angeles to pick up Nahla.
“As I was opening the door with the key he opened the door from inside,” she said. “Nahla was all dressed and ready to go. I again expressed my concern to Mr. Aubry regarding the lack of communication about Nahla.”
That’s when Aubry began screaming at her [the nanny], she said.
“While he was screaming at me Nahla reached up her arms to me for me to pick her up, which I did. Nahla put her head on my shoulder. Mr. Aubry violently pushed me, while I had Nahla in my arms, against both my shoulders with both of his hands,” she said.
She noted that Aubry is 11 inches taller than her.
“I was thrown into the wall behind me while still holding Nahla,” she said. “I was terrified. The push was so forceful that if there had not been a wall behind me to stop the force of my movement I would have fallen down with Nahla in my arms. He then slammed the door. I got away with Nahla as quickly as I could.”
Kambem’s statement also described clashes with Aubry in Spain where Berry was shooting a movie last September.
“While there, for a week consistently, every time Nahla would be playing on the floor with me, he would walk over and violently grab/take Nahla away from me,” she said. “In the night, I would hear Nahla crying and asking for me, but he would not let Nahla come to me, nor me to her. He repeatedly told me to ‘Shut up,’ and that ‘I didn’t know anything’ and other degrading remarks.”
A source close to the case said the in addition to LAPD investigating Aubry for battery and child endangerment, the L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services is also conducting their own child endangerment investigation.
Halle Berry wants to now use those claims to convince a judge to revoke Gabriel Aubry’s custody and visitation with Nahla until the investigation is resolved. A source close to the case said Tuesday’s judge decided to keep all custody orders in place and not change anything because he is not the regular judge assigned to the case. The regular judge returns on Monday, at which time both sides will be back in court to discuss Berry’s request.
For his part, Gabriel Aubry has told friends that he “never pushed the nanny.”
