Anthony Edwards is escalating his legal battle with ex Ayesha Howard, accusing her of exploiting their 11-month-old daughter, Aubri’ Summers Howard, for profit on social media and prolonging custody litigation to fuel her online following.
In court documents filed September 30 in Los Angeles, Edwards’ lawyer alleged Howard has “explicitly transformed these proceedings into public entertainment,” noting she publicly posted on September 28 that the case was “very much open to the public to look into.”
“Every court filing becomes a post, every hearing becomes content, and every delay allows continued exploitation of this infant child who cannot consent to becoming a digital commodity,” Edwards’ attorney wrote in a trial brief.
The filing continued, “The evidence before the Court establishes that Ayesha treats the minor child as a revenue-generating asset. She has publicly admitted to forcing her distressed child to continue performing for social media content, stating, ‘my baby is over content for the day, but momma gotta get back to work.’ She coordinates the child’s appearances with sponsored product placements, monetizing every moment of this infant’s existence.”
Edwards said he has repeatedly offered Howard sole custody with no visitation for himself just to bring the case to a close. His attorney argued Howard has refused to sign judgments that give her “everything she could legally obtain,” because “an open case generates content for her 642,000 Instagram followers, while a closed case does not.”
Howard, however, strongly disputes Edwards’ narrative. In a declaration filed on October 1, she argued that she only speaks publicly to correct false rumors, such as claims she received a $1 million settlement, and accused Edwards of trying to silence her.
“On the very same day this baseless rumor went viral portraying Mr. Edwards as having generously paid a $1 million settlement I was privately offered money to seal the proceedings,” Howard told the court. “The intentions were clear: to silence the truth and perpetuate a false narrative. Since then, I have endured relentless online harassment and even death threats directed at both me and my child.”
She also called Edwards’ exploitation accusations “hypocritical,” pointing out that the NBA guard himself has posted promotional content featuring another one of his children. “He claims I am monetizing every aspect of our child’s life. Yet, Mr. Edwards himself publicly posts content with his other child including promotional materials such as a Prada campaign featuring his infant daughter. I ask this Court: Is it exploitation when I post, but not when he does?”
Howard further accused Edwards and his lawyer of committing extrinsic fraud by concealing his extensive California business ties, pointing to filings showing his company AE5 Enterprises LLC lists a Beverly Hills address as its principal office.
“These misrepresentations were made under sworn declaration and appear to have been intended to evade California’s jurisdiction in a matter concerning child support despite the child being both born in and residing in California,” Howard argued in the filing.
Edwards maintains that Howard has discovered “perpetual conflict is more profitable than resolution,” while Howard insists she is only seeking fairness and child support accountability. For now, the Minnesota Timberwolves star has urged the Court to resolve the case immediately.