In a bitter custody battle between Ludacris, whose real name is Chris Bridges, and his baby mama, Tamika Fuller, a judge has finally awarded the rapper-actor full physical custody of the 13-month-old baby girl.
Things have been a little crazy in this custody fight. Fuller had been back and forth to court several times to ask for an ever increasing (and crazy) amount of child support, once topping out at $35,000. Ludacris has taken several personal and financial hits during this drawn-out battle. Several times, the judge ordered him to pay more child support, from $7,000 to $15,000, and the rapper was forced to pay Fuller's court fees one time, as well.
In addition to that, Fuller accused the 2 Fast 2 Furious actor of trying to pay her off to have an abortion and that he was always against the pregnancy, saying he "offered her $10,000 and a house if she lost the baby."
Ludacris has always said these were hurtful lies she was using to publicly humiliate him and damage his reputation. He even filed a motion (which was denied) to have the court seal the proceedings as he believed the media was taking them and reporting them out of context to make him look even worse.
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During the proceedings, the rapper has been fighting the uphill battle of convincing the court he hasn't been making any money since the tragic and unexpected death of fellow actor and friend Paul Walker, which derailed the production of Fast and Furious 7, and that he couldn't afford to pay the exorbitant amounts of child support.
Fuller made further nasty allegations against her baby daddy, saying he married his longtime girlfriend just to make a better case in court.
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You'll likely remember the amazing proposal and then fast (like same-day-as-the-proposal fast) marriage of Ludacris to his amazingly beautiful girlfriend Eudoxie Mbouguiengue just about a month ago.
Ludacris proposal
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Well, in an official statement he released to People magazine, Ludacris said, "After review of all the evidence, the testimony of the witnesses, the report of the guardian ad litem, and the claims made throughout this entire case, I am gratified that the judge found me to be the most fit and proper parent to have primary physical custody of our beautiful daughter."
The rapper also has a 13-year-old daughter, Karma Bridges, from a previous relationship.
Most people had been counting Ludacris out throughout the proceedings, saying they didn't see how the judge would provide him full custody. I don't know if that is because they believed in the allegations or if it is because traditionally it is the mothers who win custody battles.
But it certainly is encouraging to see men like Ludacris stepping up and wanting to be fully responsible for their child(ren) and that the courts are recognizing when that is in the best interest of the child, not just taking the side of the mother, which is often believed to be the case.
Congratulations to Ludacris.