Jesse Williams Demands $40k Monthly Child Support Payments Be Slashed, Not Rolling In 'Grey’s Anatomy' Money Anymore
March 25 2022, Published 11:05 a.m. ET
Jesse Williams is pleading with the court to lower his $40,000 monthly child support payments claiming he is not pulling in millions like he did when was on Grey’s Anatomy.
According to court documents obtained by Radar, Jesse and his ex Aryn Drake-Lee are back in court fighting over their two kids.
Jesse and Aryn were married from 2012 through 2017. They had been together for over 13 years. Recently, Aryn tried to strip Jesse of joint custody claiming he was acting erratically. She even accused him of threatening to call the police during an argument.
The actor scoffed at Aryn’s allegations claiming she was the one acting up. He pointed to an incident where she pounded on the car window for their nanny’s kids.
Despite the back and forth, the two ended up reaching a settlement in court where they would keep the joint custody deal.
Now, Aryn is back in court fighting a secret request by Jesse to reduce his child support payments. She attached a letter the actor filed in December with the court in which he laid out his case.
He explained from 2009 through 2021 he starred on Grey’s Anatomy “which was the primary source of income for our family throughout the marriage and for me, post-separation. I am no longer on Grey’s. My last appearance was in May 2021.”
Jesse says his ex has an Ivy League degree and previously made six figures as a real estate broker in California and New York.
He says the $40k he is paying per month was based on his Grey's salary. In 2019, he says he pulled in $6.2 million from Grey’s and an additional $183k from residuals.
Jesse argues his kids don’t live a lavish lifestyle on private jets and doesn’t believe they need $40k a month.
The actor says he left Grey’s to “grow and shape my career before the looming end of the show.”
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“My Grey’s character and career marked over 95% of my acting reputation and it was imperative to expand my body of work before it became too late. I am 41 years old and there is a long history of actors who become defined by one long-running role, who struggled to be seen (and employed) differently beyond that role. I cannot let that happen if I want to continue to have a successful career,” he said.
Jesse claims the bet paid off and he has secured a ton of major projects and even a Broadway play. However, he says his income from January 2021 through November 2021 was down to $660k without the Grey’s paychecks.
“ My current income is far from sufficient to maintain a $40,000 per month child support number, especially since I still pay one-half of the children’s private school tuition, the children’s extracurricular activities, medical care, and all of their expenses when they are with me including child-care and my own expenses,” he writes.
Jesse reveals he is only making $1,668 per week from the Broadway Show Take Me Out — which he is in New York working on at the moment.
“I am requesting the Court reduce the child support to a reasonable amount I can afford given the significant reduction in my income and the now fluctuating nature of my income. The child support should also be reflective of our two young children’s actual lifestyle and not some exorbitant/imagined version,” he said.
Jesse believes Aryn is spending the child support on her own projects and not the kids.
Now, Aryn is asking the court to deny the request to lower the monthly support checks. She admits having experience as a real estate broker but claims to have given up her career to help support Jesse during the marriage.
Aryn believes Jesse shouldn’t have left Grey’s arguing, “[Jesse] left a favorable, coveted, high-paying position on a successful T.V. show, in pursuit of his “own path,” and now seeks to shed his family responsibilities.”
A judge has yet to rule.