The ongoing legal struggle between Amber Portwood and Andrew Glennon has included alarming accusations and a lot of bitter feelings.
There are very serious issues at the heart of their custody battle, some of which include reasonable concerns about James’ safety.
We all remember how Andrew once implied that Amber’s infamous violence may have been directed at her son at one point.
Now, Amber is demanding that Andrew pay her thousands of dollars over that post.
“You hit your baby boy? Really?” Andrew Glennon’s Instagram Story read back in August of 2021.
He did not actually name Amber, or even the boy in question.
But it is only natural that people would conclude that Andrew was accusing Amber of abusing their won, even if he did not say so.
Now, The Sun reports that Amber Portwood is going after him in court.
She is demanding that her ex be held in contempt of court and required to pay $5,000.
In her court filing, she says that Andrew “violated” the law when he shared this “negative” Instagram post about her.
According to Amber, Andrew violated guidelines by “posting negative allegations about a parent on online forums.”
She claimed that this is something “which is harmful to the parties’ child.”
In this case, the allegation is that any badmouthing that either of them do in public is detrimental to James’ well-being.
According to Amber’s filing, in August of 2021, she told Andrew that their child, James, had a “sore on the inside of his lip.”
Per the documents, “After the parenting time exchange at 7:53 PM, Father accusted Mother of hitting James in their communication.”
The filing continues: “Less than 30 minutes later … Father made an Instagram post that stated, ‘You hit your baby boy? … Really?!'”
During the March hearing, Andrew denied that the deleted Instagram Story was about Amber.
But Amber wants him held in contempt of court.
If she gets her wish, Andrew will be required to pay her attorney’s fees — giving him 90 days to hand over $5,000.
Notably, this conflict is not about the allegation that Andrew allegedly made towards Amber.
She’s accusing him of making a negative public statement about her.
Some might say that by identifying herself as the perpetrator in his vague post, she’s telling on herself, but that might be splitting hairs too finely for the legal system.
It is not surprising to hear Amber accused of domestic violence.
Some may think that she only targets the men in her life — first Gary Shirley, then Andrew Glennon — with abuse.
But Teen Mom viewers remember Amber angrily encouraging Gary to use violence against then-little Leah Portwood, so evil of this magnitude is not unthinkable.
Obviously, we cannot help but think of a recent, obnoxiously well-publicized celebrity trial in which one party was sued for defamation.
In that case, as you may recall, an actress acknowledged that she has become associated with domestic violence stories.
Her ex’s victory over her during the lawsuit might not stand up to appeal, but seems likely to inspire other lawsuits against people who speak out similarly.
Unlike, say, Marilyn Manson’s lawsuit against Evan Rachel Wood, possible action that Tory Lanez might take against Megan Thee Stallion, or others, Amber is a woman.
She also took a plea deal following her domestic battery of Andrew during their relationship, so she’s not fighting that accusation.
But despite these differences, the if you talk about me even indirectly, I will take you to court vibes are eerily similar.
That said, this is also a custody battle. For better or for worse, they are both James’ parents.
Maybe James making an accusation like that … however indirectly … violated some court agreement.
But honestly, most of us are more concerned about James’ actual safety than we are about quibbling over last year’s Instagram Stories.
