Robin Thicke pulled out of LA gala tribute for his late father Alan Thicke as custody battle with ex Paula Patton takes nasty turn
Robin Thicke pulled out of his NHL100 Gala tribute for his late father Alan Thicke on Friday.
This comes after his custody battle with his former wife Paula Patton has taken an ugly turn with claims of abuse.
The Blurred Lines' hitmaker was nowhere to be seen during the tribute held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. Instead, family friend and hockey star Wayne Gretzky replaced Robin to honour the late Growing Pains actor.
Alan died last month after suffering a heart attack while playing hockey with his 19-year-old son Carter.
Challenging times: Robin Thicke pulled out of his NHL100 Gala tribute for his late father Alan Thicke on Friday. Pictured October
Gone too soon: Alan died last month after suffering a heart attack while playing hockey with his 19-year-old son Carter. Pictured December
Speaking on stage at the celebration, which commemorates the 100 greatest players in National Hockey League history, Gretzky said: 'My good friend Alan Thicke would have loved to have been here tonight, swapping stories, talking some trash, and genuinely mixing it up with so many great players that he admired.
'I'm extremely honored to be included on this amazing list. I only wish that every one of the players could have been here tonight.
'So with the help of my friend John, let's take a moment to pay tribute to the players we've lost who have earned a place on the great 100 list.'
The past: The Blurred Lines' hitmaker was nowhere to be seen during the tribute held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. Instead, family friend and hockey star Wayne Gretzky replaced Robin to honour the late Growing Pains actor
The man: Gretzky on Friday afternoon
Last week it was revealed that Robin was to give some 'special heartfelt remarks' about his father and introduce singer Jon Ondrasik's performance which will remember some of the former NHL legends who have died.
However, it comes at a difficult time for the pop star as he has been slapped with a restraining order and must stay at least 100 yards away from the Warcraft' actress - whom he divorced in 2015 - their six-year-old son Julian, and Paula's mother Joyce Patton, after Paula, 41, claimed he had punched and kicked her during their marriage and recently stood outside her mom's house for two hours demanding to see the youngster.
A source told People: 'Paula very much wanted to keep this within the family, as she believes that was in Julian's best interest.
However, she has to fight back to protect her son. As a mother, it's one thing to stay quiet if you're the victim of abuse, but once that extends to your child, you have to speak up.'
Tight: Father and son are seen here in LA in December 2013
Patton was pictured out and about in Los Angeles for the first time since shocking claims about her relationship with Thicke emerged and she won temporary custody of their son.
Photos show Patton at a parking lot in Malibu with Julian and an unidentified man, who appeared to mediate a conversation between Patton and Thicke's new girlfriend, April Love Geary.
A witness said Geary remained seated in another vehicle throughout the encounter.
Patton was granted custody of Julian Thursday after her mother had to call police when her ex Thicke showed up and demanded to see their child earlier this month.
Details emerged about the couple's tumultuous - and allegedly abusive - relationship on Thursday.
The couple are pictured above at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, where Patton claims her then husband hit her
While Patton was walking with her son in a Malibu parking lot with a mediator (right), Thicke's girlfriend April Love Geary looked on from another vehicle in the parking lot
Patton is pictured transferring her son, Julian, into the car of an unidentified male in Malibu, CA
Sources say that Patton arrived with Julian, and handed him over to the mediator, who drove to an undisclosed location.
Before leaving, the mediator appeared to pass a message along to Geary, walking over to her car to speak with her, then coming back, getting in his car, and driving away with Julian.
Patton initially wanted to keep the details of her custody battle out of the public-eye, an insider close to her told People.
She said: 'Paula very much wanted to keep this within the family, as she believes that was in Julian's best interest. However, she has to fight back to protect her son. As a mother it's one thing to stay quiet if you're the victim of abuse, but once that extends to your child, you have to speak up.'
In court papers filed in the custody case, Patton, 41, claims that Thicke, 39, has been a long-time drug abuser, cheated on her shamelessly and even beat her on occasion.
The mother is seen with her son after winning temporary sole custody of the child, as legal battles with her ex-husband Robin Thicke rage on
But Thicke himself said that he believes the sudden custody fight stems from Patton's anger that she wasn't invited to his father, actor Alan Thicke's funeral in December.
'I believe Paula's sudden ardent opposition to me spending time with Julian is a product of residual anger she holds toward me. Neither my family not I would permit Paula or her family to attend the funeral of my father on December 20, 2016.
'Paula did not have a positive relationship with my father and often made negative comments to me about my father. It is my belief that Paula only wanted to attend because it would have resulted in additional public exposure for her. As such, she was not welcome at his funeral.
'Paula has been exceedingly hostile toward me since; even refusing my request to have Julian on Christmas morning so he could open presents in my home (which would have been particularly special in light of my father's funeral five days prior,' he said in court documents.
But Patton's lawyer Larry Bakman says that his client legitimately fears for her life.
'[Patton] is in reasonable apprehension of imminent serious bodily injury to herself and the child,' Bakman said.
Paula Patton was pictured out and about in Los Angeles for the first time since shocking claims about her relationship with Robin Thicke
Perhaps the most shocking revelations in the court documents were the allegations of physical abuse.
At their son's birthday in April 2013, Patton says that Thicke organized to have a massage at their home and that she walked in to see him having 'inappropriate contact with the masseuse'.
'I told Robin that I was upset, and that his conduct was not cool. I left the room and went to another bedroom and locked the door.
'Robin became so enraged that I had interrupted his "massage" that he broke down the locked door. '
Paula Patton won temporary sole custody of her son on Thursday, after complaining about her ex Robin's (pictured) recent disturbing behavior
She says she spent the night at a friend's house and when she returned the next day, Robing 'became physically violent' - pushing her to the ground and kicking her.
Thicke reportedly had another outburst three months later, when the two attended the Cannes Film Festival.
During a fight, Patton says 'Robin hit me with a closed fist to my upper body and then pushed me onto the ground'.
She says she left the room to walk the streets of Cannes and called Robin's father, the late actor Alan Thicke, for help in 'salvaging the relationship'.
In February 2014, Patton says Thicke exploded at her in front of their son and his nanny.
'I was in Vancouver filming a movie entitled Warcraft. Robin and Julian came to stay with me for the weekend. Robin told me that as part of my Valentine’s gift, he was going to wake up with Julian that day (which was an extraordinarily unusual action for him to take), so that I could sleep in.
'When Julian woke up that morning, the nanny brought him into our room. I asked him whether he was going to get up and watch our son, and Robin lost control. In front of our nanny and in front of Julian, he jumped out of bed naked, screaming. Julian was upset and frightened by this unexpected rage (as was I),' Patton said.
A few days after the Vancouver incident, the two decided to separate.
New details are being revealed about Patton and Thicke's tumultuous relationship in court documents - including claims that Thicke grabbed his son by the beck after a trip to the British Virgin Islands this fall (his son is pictured on the trip above
'Robin quite simply emotionally wore me down. I felt abused, disrespected and depressed. I wanted out of this marriage as I did not have the strength to go another day with Robin given the emotional cost,' she said.
Also troubling was Thicke's drug use, even when caring for their son.
Patton says Thicke hosted their son's fifth birthday in April 2015, after the two separated, and that she was shocked to see he invited his drug dealer named Guido to the party - something she found 'highly inappropriate',
From the start of their marriage, Patton says Thicke has battled addition. She says he drank and smoked marijuana openly in front of their family, and used cocaine on a social basis.
She says she witnessed these issues escalate after the birth of their son, and then as their marriage was coming to an end. But she says he hid many of his issues from her.
Since his divorce from Patton - his high school sweetheart - Thicke, 39, has started dating 21-year-old model April Love Geary (pictured together in May 2015)
In 2009, she learned their their shared entertainment manager quit 'citing Robin's drug abuse as the sole reason' which took her by surprise.
'I was shocked, as I had no idea until then of the extent of Robin's cocaine abuse,' she said.
His drug use appeared to cause a strain on their marriage and in 2013, at a counseling session, Thicke is said to have 'admitted' to Patton 'that he had a drug and alcohol problem and that it was affecting his behavior'.
Another issue that Patton brought up in the court documents was Thicke's shameless infidelity.
His wandering eye ruined her Valentine's Day in 2013, when Patton says he treated her to a stay at L.A.'s Chateau Marmont hotel.
She says they rented two bungalows and that Thicke invited friends over to party.
Later, she says they 'made love' in one of the bedrooms and she fell asleep.
But while she was asleep, Patton says Thicke tried to have sex with one of the other party attendants in another bedroom.
'When I confronted Robin about this, he admitted to attempting to have sex with the stranger, but stated that he ended up being unable to do so because of the amount of cocaine that he used that evening had caused him to be unable to perform … Julian was in another room with our nanny at the time,' Patton said.
Later that year, he went on tour, and when he returned Patton says her husband 'told me that he had unprotected sex with seven other women'.
'He then informed me that [a tabloid] had found out about this and that they were going to expose him. In exchange for better treatment, Robin offered them an exclusive interview.
'He wanted me to hear about the unprotected sex from him as opposed to reading it in the tabloids. I immediately had myself tested for sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS given his representation that his having sex with other women was unprotected,' she said.
Patton says she even caught him in the act once - after the MTV VMA's that same year.
'After the taping of the awards show, I went to our room only to find Robin in bed with two naked women. I left the hotel, wandered the streets of New York and called my brother crying,' she said.
That was the same awards show that Miley Cyrus grinded up on Thicke for a performance of his hit Blurred lines.
His inability to commit to one woman continued even after they separated.
In April 2014, Patton says that Thicke stated that he wanted to get back together and that he was making an album about her.
But on one visit home, on a break from filming in Vancouver, Thicke left his phone out and she glimpsed a text message to his friend Rich, asking him to come over to the house because he had 'six naked women' there.
'I asked Robin about the text. He told me that he had sex with one of the girls in the guest bedroom. He told me that he had thrown a manicure and pedicure party for the six naked women in our family home.
'I told him that was the end. Robin agreed to a divorce and told me that he had very little money left and that he would most likely end up living in an apartment in the Valley,' Patton recalls.
Patton says that Thicke once invited his drug dealer to their son's fifth birthday. Father and son pictured above on vacation
In another incident, on the day before Christmas Eve in 2013, Patton says her husband accidentally called her while he was having sex with another woman.
'On another line, I called his band mates and begged them to reach him to tell him to hang up his phone, because the sounds of his sexual encounter were too much for me to bear,' she said.
Patton says that at first, they were co-parenting without issue. But she says she saw a change in both her son and her ex's behavior that caused her to file for sole custody.
Patton's main concerns started late last year, when her son told her that Thicke had started spanking him.
She says she first learned that her ex was using corporeal punishment on their child in December, when her son recalled an incident on a recent sleepover with his dad.
'Julian told me that while at the "old house", while spending the night with Robin, before going to sleep, Julian had asked Robin for one more hug.
'Julian heard his father walk down the fall to come back to his room, and Julian was expecting another hug. Instead of getting a hug, Robin came into the room, became angry, and gave Julian a spanking...
'Julian told me that he must have annoyed his father by continuing to ask for another hug before going to sleep but instead of receiving a hug he instead was hit,' she says.
Around that time, Julian also said that his father grabbed him by the neck after a trip to the Virgin Islands in November.
'Julian said to me, "I know Dad was really tired but it hurt,"' Patton recalled.
After the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards - in which Thicke danced with Miley Cyrus - Patton says she returned to their hotel room to find him naked in bed with two women
On January 2, Patton says that her son described the spankings in more detail while her mother was present.
'Julian told my mother and me that when Robin spanked him it was really hard. We asked him to show us how hard, and I asked him to hit me on the back to demonstrate. Julian described the hit as "hot fire lava, but worse than that."
'In showing me how hard he was hit, I was taken aback by how hard Julian hit my back. I then told Julian that I could not keep his secret, and that I need to protect him. He became very angry, tensed up and yelled at me that if I told, he would never tell me anything about his father again.'
Patton never got the chance to report the spankings herself, because she was called into the school next day for a meeting.
In the meeting, Julian teacher said how she had overheard him talking about the spankings and would need to report them to police.
His teacher said that the previous month, Julian had commented to her that 'Dad punches me so hard, but never where anyone sees,' 'If we are in a public place, like the beach, Dad will take me to the bathroom,' 'Dad will never hit me in public because someone would ask what he was doing and then call 911,' and 'If we are home, Dad will take me to my bedroom and hit me.'
She also said that Julian told her that her dad 'grabbed' him 'by the back of the beck and hurt him'.
'He asked Dad to stop but Dad wouldn't stop and instead took Julian in the bathroom and hurt him really hard,' the teacher recalled.
These startling comments led Patton to keep her son with her for the time being. She also hired off-duty LA police officers to provide security.
The custody battle came to a head on January 19, when Thicke showed up to her mother's house and demanded to see Julian.
Her filing states that Thicke showed up at her mother's house on January 19 while their son was being interviewed by child services workers and that the singer refused to leave.
After the child services workers left, Thicke banged on the door and demanded to see his son, leaving only after Patton's mother called police, Patton wrote.
'This last incident with Robin was terrifying for me. It was terrifying for our son. I have no idea why Robin would resort coming over to my mother's house and create a scene. In my opinion his conduct in front of DCFS and other third party witnesses is only evidence of either sustained abuse and/or a complete inability to maintain self control particularly for the benefit of our child,' she said.
A judge agreed to grant Patton temporary sole custody of her son until their next hearing on February 24. Until then, Thicke will still be able to see his son three times a week, in supervised visits at a neutral location.
Ginsberg wrote in a court filing that Thicke is seeking sole custody and accuses Patton of manipulating their son.
Emails to Ginsberg and Thicke's publicist were not returned Thursday afternoon.
Thicke, whose biggest hit was the 2013 song Blurred Lines, and Patton were high school sweethearts and dated for ten years before marrying in June 2005.
She filed for divorce in October 2014, and their judgment was finalized a few months later. Julian is their only child.
- Robin Thicke, Paula Patton Attend Family Therapy with Son After Custody Fight
- Robin Thicke, Paula Patton Embroiled in Custody War with Allegations of Physical Abuse | TMZ.com
- Robin Thicke, Judge Yanks Custody and Children's Services Investigating Paula Patton | TMZ.com
- Paula Patton Claims Robin Thicke Invited a Drug Dealer to Son's 5th Birthday ¿ and More Bombshells from Her Court Filing
- Paula Patton Pursued Robin Thicke Custody Battle to 'Fight Back,' 'Protect Her Son'
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