The HGTV star called her ex's claim 'offensive.'
Christina Hall is denying ex Ant Anstead's most recent claim. One day after Anstead filed court docs alleging that his and Hall's 3-year-old son, Hudson, is being "exploited" by the HGTV star, Hall fired back with a court filing of her own.
In Anstead's court filing, obtained by ET, he noted that, since he sought -- and was denied -- emergency temporary orders in April, he and Hall resolved "a lot" of their custody issues and Hudson "has now adapted to the new 50/50 custodial schedule." In Hall's court filing, which ET obtained, she called Anstead's statement "grossly misleading" as "Hudson has always been well adjusted to that schedule," which has been in place for more than a year.
According to Anstead, the one "unresolved issue" is that of "whether or not it is in Hudson's best interests to have his name, image, and likeness exploited in commercials and he be compelled to appear on Christina’s 'reality TV' shows."
"Christina has already exploited Hudson in numerous paid promotions on social media," Anstead claimed. "l fear she also has footage of him, to be used in one of her 'reality' TV shows, without my knowledge or consent, and continues to film him despite my objections."
In her court filing, Hall said that she is "shocked to see that Anstead is continuing to make false allegations" against her.
"The allegation that I am 'exploiting' our son is truly offensive and simply untrue," Hall claimed, before alleging that Anstead's "motivation" for his court filing "is not Hudson’s best interest."
"I offered private mediation and private judging to resolve and address his issues privately before he filed his request for order and Ant declined," the docs read. "Ant instead chose to tarnish my good name with knowingly false allegations... His declaration makes it clear that he is only interested in smearing me publicly."
"Ant gave full custody of his two older children to his ex-wife, who lives in England," she added. "He moved to America to chase fame and after that ran out, it seems he is using these non-issues to continue to gain public attention to keep himself relevant and in the public eye."
Any social media posts with Hudson that Anstead shares, he alleged, are unpaid and, as such, the child "is not subjected to the stresses of film set chaos and the unnatural pressure to perform," something that can affect kids' "welfare, worldview and self-image." In her filing, Hall alleged that Anstead posts "the same type of videos" with Hudson as she does, whether or not the posts are paid.
"I do not believe it is in Hudson's best interests to be exploited as 'spokesperson, ambassador' or as 'model' for any products or social media campaigns," Anstead wrote. "I would choose to turn down requests for Hudson to be used in such ads. We should preserve Hudson's right to choose for himself in the future."
For her part, Hall said that she has "never exploited our son Hudson."
"He appeared in few of my own Instagram ads that each took less than minutes to film. I have all the footage and they were all fun activities that he enjoyed doing, such as playing with toys or making cookies," Hall said. "These were organic moments in Hudson’s eyes. Nothing was forced, and they were filmed with cell phone, not production team."
When one of her children does appear on a TV show, Hall said, "it is either a quick scene at home or fun family outing."
Anstead, however, cited "the tragic case of Kailia Posey" as an example of how "public ridicule over seemingly benign content becomes insurmountably humiliating." Posey, a former Toddlers & Tiaras star, died by suicide in May.
"There has never been nor would there ever be an occasion where one of my children are filmed in any individual role without being involved in a family scene," Hall said in her filing. "They are not child actors, just part of the family in a family show that is free of any controversy."
Additionally, Anstead said that, should Hudson be "compelled" to appear on TV and social media, the funds earned should be put in his savings account, and "safeguards" should be put in place.
"Ant was previously informed that I have put over $100,000 in an account for Hudson’s future and that I continue to add to the account from my own income," Hall responded in her filing. "I have not been provided any evidence that Ant is doing the same, but hope that he will."
In his filing, Anstead said that he "would be willing to review" the situation again when Hudson "is older." However, Hall claimed that she has "repeatedly taken the position that I will agree that Hudson shall not appear on television or on social media," but alleged that "it is Ant who insists that he be able to use Hudson in social media posts to promote the post and expand its 'organic' reach."
"Hudson has not appeared in any of my Instagram endorsements since April 2022, when Ant asked me not to have him in them," Hall alleged. "I did not have problem stopping, nor do I care to feature Hudson in any further endorsements. It is a non-issue at this point and is no longer relevant, except that Ant wants to continue posting Hudson on social media."
"If it is in the best interest of Hudson to be clear of public scrutiny, I feel Hudson should be off all public social media until he is old enough to make his own decisions," she added. "That is why I suggested removing him from television and public social media all together."
Anstead ended his court filing by asking for legal custody of Hudson, but noted that he is committed to maintaining shared physical custody with Hall.
"l do not believe it is in Hudson’s best interests to be exploited by his mother for professional and financial gain. As she insists that he should be, I ask the court to give me legal custody so I can make the decisions to protect Hudson and prevent this from happening," the docs read. "I want Hudson, as a normal three-year-old, to have an organic relationship with his mother and I will continue to fully support her in having physical custody of Hudson 50 percent of the time."
Meanwhile, Hall concluded, "I am hopeful that Ant will abandon this destructive course of action. I am a dedicated and protective mother and am diligent about the welfare of all my children. I am saddened that Ant continues to impugn my character and continues to portray me in false light."
RELATED CONTENT:
