“Grey's Anatomy” star Jesse Williams is once again arguing with his ex-wife about custody

Jesse Williams is back in the headlines because of his ugly fight with his ex-wife Aryn Drake Leebut this time it's about custody of the children.

The latest conflict follows several previous court battles, including Williams' attempt in March 2022 to reduce his $40,000 monthly child support payments.

After a brief cooling-off period, tensions flared up again when Jesse Williams accused Aryn Drake-Lee of interfering in the time he spends with their children.

Jesse Williams complains that his ex-wife is sabotaging his time with the children

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Williams is fighting back in court and is seeking a more balanced custody arrangement with his ex-wife Aryn Drake-Lee. The producer recently filed new legal documents demanding joint custody of their two children – a 10-year-old daughter and a 9-year-old son.

The 43-year-old claims that his current custody plan only allows one or two overnight stays during the school year and that he believes this is unfair. According to the documents receivedWilliams accuses Drake-Lee of interfering in his parenting efforts.

He claims she consistently blocks his FaceTime calls, prevents the children from participating in activities he organizes, and manipulates vacation schedules to limit the time he can spend with them.

In a pointed statement, Williams claimed, “Causing drama and trying to destroy our children's experiences with me is far more important to Aryn than her peace, health and happiness.” He believes his ex is more interested in creating conflict than fostering a healthy co-parenting relationship.

According to TMZ, the court has already ordered the former couple to seek mediation to resolve the ongoing custody dispute that has flared up since their separation.

The former “Grey's Anatomy” star has already demanded a reduction in child support

The ongoing custody battle between Williams and Drake-Lee has been a recurring topic since their split, but this is not the first time financial matters have been at the center of their disagreements.

In 2022, the director attempted to reduce his high monthly alimony payments, which totaled $40,000, claiming the amount was no longer sustainable following his exit from Grey's Anatomy in 2021.

The Blast reported that Williams decided to leave the hit ABC series after ten seasons as Dr. Jackson Avery to seek other acting opportunities.

The departure, however, caused a significant drop in his earnings. During his time on the medical drama, Williams earned $6.2 million annually and collected $183,000 in royalties, but his new roles brought him far less.

Williams argued that the popular series was the main source of income for him and his family and without it he would have struggled to make the $40,000 monthly payments. He explained:

“I request that the court reduce child support to a reasonable amount that I can afford given the significant reduction in my income and the new fluctuations in my income.”

Williams justified his efforts to reduce support with the modest lifestyle of his children

Williams argued for a reduction in the substantial $40,000 monthly child support payments, claiming that this amount did not reflect his children's actual lifestyle.

“The Butler“ The star stressed that the high payments actually reflected the everyday reality of his children. Williams emphasized that despite the high payments, his children always lived modestly. He said:

“Our children's lifestyle was/is in no way commensurate with the $40,000 per month in child support. Our children lead a modest lifestyle. They do not have expensive hobbies and do not attend expensive summer camps.”

The actor went on to say that the holidays are anything but luxurious. “They don't fly on private jets when we go on holiday (which is already rare), and we don't have holiday homes,“ Williams added.

He clarified that his original agreement to the amount of child support was based on his significant “Grey's Anatomy“ Revenues that have declined since then.

The actor's leaked Broadway scene broke the internet

The star has once again found himself at the center of online furor – but this time for a reason other than his legal battles. Following his widely publicized request to reduce child support payments, Williams made headlines for another reason: his frontal appearance in the Broadway play “Take Me Out.”

The explosion reported that the leak occurred during a shower scene in the production, in which Williams and his co-stars are seen completely naked.

Although the Second Stage Theater had implemented a strict no-phone policy that required audience members to keep their devices in particularly In some cases, a participant managed to take photos of the actor and share them online.

The images quickly spread across X (formerly Twitter), making Williams' on-stage nudity a viral sensation.

Jesse Williams broke his silence on the viral nude scene

After the internet went crazy over leaked photos of his frontal posing scene, Williams spoke about the viral moment in a candid appearance on Andy Cohen's Watch What Happens Live.

Along with his co-star Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Williams took the situation in his stride and gave insights into how he dealt with the attention.

In typical Andy Cohen style, the moderator jumped straight into the topic and asked Williams and his fellow actors about their experiences of appearing completely naked on stage. Cohen playfully asked how much “puffing up” continued before the actors bared everything.

Williams remained calm and cheerful, admitting that the audience's reaction – or lack thereof – could be nerve-wracking. “No reaction is a very interesting reaction. The silence creates a lot of uncertainty,” Williams said.

Cohen pressed further, asking if Williams would prefer kind of Audience reaction. The actor made clear that he was not a fan of thinking too much about the moment, explaining: “I don't like any of it.”

For Williams, the experience of being completely naked on stage was a first and he admitted it pushed him out of his comfort zone. “It's a first, so I have nothing to compare it to, and I'm going to be pretty… I'm not going to be afraid of anything after this, that's for sure,” he said.

Will Jesse Williams settle this dispute with his ex-wife Aryn Drake-Lee quickly or will it drag on?