The actor filed a petition on Tuesday arguing that the judge in his case is allegedly biased against him.
Tyrese Gibson is looking to get a new judge in his divorce case with his ex, Samantha Lee Gibson.
Following a heated exchange during two courtroom hearings in late August -- in which Tyrese was ordered to pay $10,690 per month in child support for the former couple's 3-year-old daughter, Soraya -- the actor filed a petition in Fulton County Superior Court in Georgia, seeking the recusal of Judge Kevin M. Farmer.
According to the court docs filed on Tuesday, which were obtained by ET, Tyrese lays out a multitude of reasons he believes Judge Farmer was biased against him during the hearings.
In the motion for recusal, Tyrese's attorneys allege that, at a pre-trial hearing in his chambers, Judge Farmer "stated that he already has reviewed the financial evidence in the case" and that $10,690 was "an appropriate amount" for the actor to pay. The motion suggests that Judge Farmer had already made up his mind on the matter before hearing anything that would be presented in court.
There were also many moments during the trial that Tyrese feels demonstrated the judge's alleged bias.
When Tyrese testified on Aug. 29 that "he has a CPA to manage his finances, and that he did not know anything about his finances, Judge Farmer stated from the bench that self-employed people manipulate their taxes suggesting that [Tyrese] did not properly report his taxes," the motion claims, adding, "When counsel for [Tyrese] stated that [Tyrese] would have his CPA fly in from California for the second day of trail, Judge Farmer would not allow it and just walked off the bench."
During a contentious day in court on Aug. 30 -- during which time Tyrese took the stand and was repeatedly interrupted by Judge Farmer while testifying, as seen in video of the court hearing -- the actor's motion claims that Judge Farmer "said that counsel for [Tyrese] needed to 'put a foot on her client's neck.'"
The motion further claims, "During the second conference in chambers [on Aug. 30], Judge Farmer yelled at opposing counsel using an expletive. Judge Farmer then told counsel for [Tyrese] that if [he] did not behave, he would leave the courtroom in handcuffs."
The motion concludes that, "Because of the unprofessionalism of Judge Farmer," Tyrese was unable to "get a fair trial in this case."
Tyrese's lawyers, Tanya Mitchell Graham and Shantanece L. Ellis, additionally submitted affidavits giving written accounts of what they saw in court, supporting Tyrese's motion.
Tyrese and Samantha first tied the knot in 2017, but announced their split in a joint statement released in December 2020. Tyrese is also the father to 15-year-old daughter Shayla, from a previous marriage.
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