Yahoo Finance Christina Ricci's Estranged Husband Denied Restraining Order After amid Domestic Violence Allegations
Rich Fury/Getty Christina Ricci, James Heerdegen
Christina Ricci's estranged husband James Heerdegen has been denied a restraining order against the actress amid a domestic violence dispute.
Heerdegen, 38, was denied his request by a judge on Friday, in court documents obtained by PEOPLE. A hearing has been scheduled for Feb. 11 in Los Angeles.
The denial comes two days after Ricci, 40, was granted a restraining order against the cinematographer for alleged domestic violence, in separate court documents obtained by PEOPLE.
In his filing, Heerdegen claims Ricci "would drink in excess on an almost daily basis" that would lead to alleged "rants and raves" from the actress toward him and their 6-year-old son Freddie.
Ricci's attorney Samantha Spector did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment. In a statement obtained by Page Six, Spector said, "This filing is nothing more than a transparently abusive attempt to silence my client. It will not work. Christina will not be intimidated by Mr. Heerdegen and his barrage of misleading claims — and she remains determined to protect her family."
In a statement obtained by PEOPLE, his attorney, Larry Bakman, says, "Despite the Court's denial of Mr. Heerdegen's request for temporary orders, trial on the merits has been set on a far more abbreviated schedule than that provided to Ms. Ricci. Trial on Mr. Heerdegen's request for permanent orders is set for February 11, 2021 wherein Ms. Ricci's was not set until March 10th. A reasonable inference is that the Court is far more concerned with Mr. Heerdegen's allegations particularly with respect to the best interest and safety of the couples' child as opposed to the allegations made by Ms. Ricci."
Heerdegen, who married Ricci in October 2013, claims in his filing that The Addams Family star would "assault and batter me by hitting and scratching me with her arms hands and nails."
He also accused Ricci of "weaponizing her status, reputation and ties to press in an effort to control me and do her bidding most often related to our son."
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The cinematographer alleges Ricci's restraining order against him was a ""preemptive fabricated strike" against me in order to control custody" of their son.
Heerdegen requested sole legal and physical custody of their son as well as a child support order and spousal support, all of which were denied by a judge.
RELATED: Christina Ricci Files for Divorce from James Heerdegen After Being Granted Protective Order: Report
Under Ricci's own restraining order, Heerdegen must stay 100 yards away from the actress, and he will also have no visitation rights with their son Freddie and must stay away from the family's dog, PEOPLE confirmed on Wednesday.
In Ricci's filing against Heerdegen, the actress claimed she was subjected to "severe physical and emotional abuse" by Heerdegen with "many of these acts of abuse" taking place in front of their son.
Heerdegen's attorney Larry Bakman said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE that his client "unequivocally denies all allegations of abuse made by Ms. Ricci as having occurred in 2020."
In her declaration in her filing, Ricci claimed the alleged abuse started as soon as she learned of her pregnancy in October 2013.
"I began to feel extremely isolated," Ricci wrote of the alleged subsequent abuse, describing a family vacation in New Zealand where Heerdegen "said something that made me think" he "could kill me."
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"He said the only way he could feel sorry for me is if I were dismembered into small pieces," wrote Ricci in the declaration. "That night I hid all the knives in the cabin where we were staying. I feared for my life and the life of our son. I slept in a separate bedroom with Freddie, and I locked the door."
Ricci detailed several instances of alleged abuse, including an incident on June 25 where the actress said Heerdegen followed her around the house "all morning, screaming at me, spitting on me, throwing coffee at me, and throwing a chair at me" in the presence of their son.
At the time, Ricci said she called 911 and was granted an emergency protective order against Heerdegen. She filed for divorce a week later in July 2020.
In the filing, Ricci also alleged Heerdegen "became emotionally unhinged" in early January after finding out she had been spending time with a male friend, becoming "increasingly hostile and erratic" including sending the actress "hostile text messages containing veiled threats to harm my reputation in the media."
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She asked a judge to grant a move out order so that Heerdegen may "not return" to the home she currently resides in and has requested the court order the cinematographer to attend a 52-week batterer intervention program and show proof of completion to the court.
In his statement on Wednesday, Bakman said Heerdegen's allegations against the actress "are supported by documentation written by Ms. Ricci reflecting her apologies for her abusive conduct, coupled with James' contemporaneous written accounts of Ms. Ricci's verbal, emotional and physical abuse. Many of these documents will be attached to Mr. Heerdegen's moving papers." (In her declaration within her own filing, Ricci denies Heerdegen's allegations.)
"Mr. Heerdegens' papers will also reflect Ricci's attempts at coercive control through the use of the couple's six year old son," Bakman's statement continued. "Unfortunately, Ms. Ricci has a propensity to utilize the child as a pawn in order to punish and control James."
"My client unequivocally denies Ms. Ricci's allegations of abuse either in 2020 and/or since the inception of the couple's marriage as claimed in Ricci's moving papers filed yesterday. Ricci's request for a domestic violence restraining order is nothing more than Ricci's latest attempt to control James and interfere in his relationship with the couple's son through the use of fabricated domestic violence allegations," the statement concluded.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
