Halle Bailey's restraining order

CW for intimate partner violence 

Halle Bailey is seeking sole custody of Halo, her 16-month-old son after being granted a temporary restraining order against Halo’s father DDG earlier this week. The temporary restraining order means she has sole physical and legal custody of Halo until at least June 4.

The court order also stipulates that DDG needs to remain at least 100 yards away from Halle and their son, her home, and her car, and he is barred from making contact with her. He is unable to visit his son until the court allows it. 

In documents filed with the court, Halle described multiple instances in which DDG allegedly aggressed her, with the first incident pf physical abuse taking place this January. It unfolded as she was strapping their son into DDG’s car as he repeatedly verbally abused her. She described them getting into an altercation, saying “things got physical between us.”

“We fought each other, wresting and tussling. At one point, Darryl was pulling my hair. He then slammed my face on the steering wheel, causing my tooth to get chipped,” she wrote, before adding that she stopped trying to fight back due to the pain she was in. 

This appears to be the incident that led to the photos that have been circulating online of her bruised arms and chipped tooth, which you can see here via TMZ.

“Darryl lacks an understanding of how his actions impact Halo. He is often verbally abusive towards me in front of Halo,” she wrote elsewhere in the court filing.

Halle also described receiving an ominous text after he entered into her home in her absence, sending her a photo of her bed and accused her of having sex with other men. Days later, she objected to sending their son on a visit with him because Halo had been sick, which led to a confrontation. When he realized her Ring camera was capturing the dispute, he smashed it. She says she then called a relative for help, at which point he grabbed her phone, got into his car and slammed the door on her while she held the baby. She says she filed a police report. 

Halle says that taking legal action was the absolute last resort. Despite claims that DDG does not often stay with Halo and leaves him in the care of his mother during his visits, she says she’s done all that she can to facilitate time for him to spend with his son, but realizes that there is no placating him.

“Whenever he wishes to cause upset, he starts badmouthing me to his several millions of fans. He claims I am withholding our son and that I am with other men. As a result, I then receive threats and hate on social media…I cannot allow this abuse any longer. I cannot keep living like this,” she wrote.

If some of this sounds familiar, that could be because there are parts of this that echo Keke Palmer’s experience with Darius Daulton, which I wrote about here. The particular similarity is how both Darius and DDG weaponized their fanbases and visibility to humiliate the mothers of their children.

Since the pair split last October, Halle, much like Keke had prior to the notorious tweet Darius fired off at her after she appeared at the Usher concert in her FIRE outfit that he didn’t approve of, remained as private as possible about some of the struggles she outlined in her relationship behind closed doors. But there were times she spoke out – signalling to fans that things were not the greatest.

Back in November, shortly after they split, Halle expressed concern over seeing their son on a livestream DDG and Kai Cenat were doing together. She addressed the issue on X, and shortly deleted her account after the post was shared. 

"Hi everyone. just so you know i am out of town and i don't approve of my baby being on a stream tonight. I wasn't told or notified and i am extremely upset to have my baby in front of millions of people…I am his mother and protector and saddened that i wasn't notified especially when i am out of town,” the now-deleted post read.

Even for non-celebrity women struggling with coparenting, the tactics that seem to be put to use here are alarmingly standard – particularly as it pertains to the issue with singer Brent Faiyaz. TMZ published texts appearing to be from DDG to Halle while she was seemingly on vacation in St. Lucia with Brent – and DDG tried to shame her, saying she was ‘ruining her image’, calling it ‘a terrible look’, and said that when he got his son back he would be ‘on the same sh-t’. This is all a way to instill a sense of fear and shame.

So far, DDG’s responses, made mainly on X, to the entire situation have been unimpressive and far too frequent for my liking. And in a non-surprising turn of events, it appears he has the full support of his mother, which is not entirely uncommon in situations like these. And with DDG being notified of the restraining order being granted while he was streaming, it kind of pads Halle’s case that she’d appreciate a bit more privacy, if not for herself then certainly for the son they share.

The pair will appear in court next on June 4, where longer term action could be decided, or things could remain as they currently are for the foreseeable future. There’s no denying that it’s an unfortunate situation. But during a week where so many powerful women are taking the stand, one line of Halle’s court filing really resonated with me – and it’s this one:

“I cannot allow this abuse any longer. I cannot keep living like this.”