The ex-husband of "NCIS: New Orleans" star Zoe McLellan has accused her of kidnapping their son.
According to TMZ, the erstwhile Meredith Brody gave actor J.P. Gillain an advance notice of only two days that she was traveling to Canada with 4-year-old Sebastian to shoot a role on "Designated Survivor." (She reportedly had little advance warning herself that she'd need to book it to Toronto as soon as possible to begin work on the Kiefer Sutherland-led ABC drama.)
Now J.P. has asked a judge to order the "Dirty Sexy Money" and "JAG" alum to return their little boy, of whom they currently share joint custody.
But the actress has been fighting to change their custody agreement.
According to court documents obtained by TMZ, she claims to be Sebastian's primary caregiver and alleges that her ex can't support the lifestyle she's able to provide for their son, which is why he should stay with her in Canada while she shoots for the next year. Zoe has also reportedly offered to cover J.P.'s travel expenses so that he can visit their little boy in Toronto.
J.P., meanwhile, is arguing that Sebastian needs stability and that it's harmful to uproot him to accommodate his mother's acting career.
"For his part, Gillain says his ex-wife basically held a gun to his head, demanding he consent to the move and agree to work out a new custody deal," reports TMZ.
The former couple has been waging a war for custody of Sebastian for years: Back in 2014, TMZ reported that Zoe believed J.P., who'd been working as a waiter, only wanted jointed custody of their son so that he could collect child support after she inked a lucrative deal to star on "NCIS: New Orleans" ($45K an episode). He also fought to block her from moving to New Orleans with Sebastian to shoot the CBS procedural.
At the time, she alleged in court documents that J.P. had not been involved in their son's life and didn't even know how to put him to bed.
Zoe opened up about her life as a single mom during an interview with HuffPost earlier this year.
"My experience has been a lot of different things as a single mom in the industry — everything from being almost shamed to being celebrated and respected," she said. "I know that being a mom has made me a better actress and a better person. And I know that the creative outlet of acting helps me be a great mom."
As for her son's thoughts on her career, "Sebastian likes to see me happy — whether it's visiting me on set or watching a 'Heart Screams' video," she said.
Variety reported in July that Zoe will be joining the second season of "Designated Survivor" as Kendra Daynes, "a wise and brilliant attorney who has to navigate through the legal and personal issues of everyday life as well as in the White House."