Real Talk: Halle Berry and Gabriel Aubry, You're Too Grown For This

On Thanksgiving Day, as my family and I milled about in the living room after gleefully stuffing ourselves, my aunt asked me, “Did you hear what happened to Halle Berry today?” I had not heard. And because the question caught me off guard—my aunt is more of a politics-talking type—I didn’t follow up. I was more curious about what she was reading that had given her a pop culture one-up on me. I was impressed she was taking an interest in, well, my interests. Later, I heard there was a dust up at Berry’s house when her ex-boyfriend and father of her child, Gabriel Aubry, stopped by to drop off their 4-year-old daughter, Nahla. Allegedly, Berry’s fiancé, Olivier Martinez, threatened Aubry the day before and when Aubry arrived, all hell broke loose in the driveway. Aubry ended up in the hospital with a fractured rib and a bruised face. He was also arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor battery. Martinez was spotted in LA with a bandaged right hand. I heard all this and assumed the situation had been greatly exaggerated. I figured maybe there was a scuffle—some wild gesturing and pushing—and the guys headed to the hospital as a way to gain more leverage during the next round of the never-ending custody battles between Berry and her ex of five years. The idea of two grown celebrity men actually beating each other so badly on Thanksgiving Day that it requires medical intervention just seemed too tabloid-y to be true. I wish that were the case. Yesterday, TMZ released photos of Aubry’s battered face, and it looked like he took the same beating fictional boxer Tommy Hearns gave to “Martin Payne.” In the aftermath of this latest drama, Berry’s relationship history is being dragged up again. When ABC.com covered this story, they went all the way back to Berry’s marriage to David Justice in 1992. I sort of get it. There’s a valid argument to be made when individuals repeatedly find themselves in dramatic situations and play a significant role in their conflicts. Given Berry’s relationship history, she may not make the best choices when it comes to men. But her selections have nothing to do with why two, very grown men thought it was an acceptable idea to beat the crap out of each other one pleasant Thanksgiving Day afternoon. That’s on the guys, not Berry. I have no clue what this debacle was over, and I won’t make any guesses. I do know the only time a family should be having drama like this is when there’s a script involved. I also will observe that healthy communication between Berry’s ex and Berry’s next has dissolved to non-existent if it’s to the point where grown men are throwing blows on Thanksgiving Day. All parties involved—that means Berry and Nahla too—need to get theirselves to the nearest therapist to hash out their ongoing family issues. Demetria L. Lucas is the author of A Belle in Brooklyn: The Go-to Girl for Advice on Living Your Best Single Life (Atria) in stores now. Follow her on Twitter @abelleinbk