Summary: Mel Gibson’s ex discussed their relationship on the Howard Stern Show, and now she will no longer receive money from their break-up settlement.
If Mel Gibson’s ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva would’ve just responded “no comment” on air with Howard Stern, then the model would be $500,000 richer. But this week, a California appeals court said that because she publicly commented on her relationship with the movie star that she would be denied pre-arranged settlement payments.
In 2010, Gibson sought to establish paternity to Grigorieva’s daughter, and she had filed her own lawsuit, claiming he abused and defamed her. In 2012, the couple settled their suits. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the model was rewarded $20,000 a month for child support and housing, and he was allowed to claim he was the father. To resolve the battery and defamation allegations, Gibson agreed to pay Grigorieva $750,000 over three installments.
Gibson had already paid $250,000; but he filed a lawsuit to withhold the rest after Grigorieva went on the Howard Stern show in 2013. The inflammatory radio host commented on her abuse claims, saying, “You do not treat a woman that way, especially the mother of your child.”
Grigorieva seemed to confirm her abuse by Gibson by replying, “You know what? You have to embrace your experience and even — it doesn’t matter how painful it might be at the time, and that darker experience, learn from it.”
After learning of the interview, Gibson filed a request to discharge his obligation to pay the rest of the ex-couple’s settlement. Her attorneys said that Gibson could not establish a breach based on inference, but the appeals court rejected this argument and sided with Gibson.
“While it is true that the confidentiality clause did not require [Grigorieva] to police what other people might say about her past relationship with [Gibson], it expressly restricted her capacity to make statements ‘related to’ her domestic violence claims against him,” the court opinion said.
Do you think Grigorieva’s words were a breach of her contract with Gibson? Let us know in the comments below.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Photo courtesy of M Live