Ant Anstead is responding to confused fans after he posted a photo of his 2-year-old son Hudson while accusing ex-wife Christina Hall of exploiting their son’s likeness for her social media advertisements amid their ongoing custody battle. The Wheeler Dealers alum took to Instagram Thursday to share a photo of Hudson reuniting with his grandparents.
“Covid lockdown was hard on everyone. Finally the world is getting back to normal, which means… my parents made it to America!” Anstead captioned a photo with his father and son. “That’s basically code for Nanna & Gramps spoiling Hudzo, tons of mum’s home cooking and my laundry gets done for me. It also means sunsets and evening walks for dinner. Table for five.”
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The For the Love of Cars alum, who has been dating Renee Zellweger for more than a year, then responded to followers who were confused to see him posting photos of Hudson when Hall has been prevented from doing so. “It’s actually an interesting legal anomaly that I am seeking to change. While Coogan’s law protects kids it doesn’t cover ‘reality’ TV or social media,” the Celebrity IOU: Joyride wrote in reference to a law in California that requires a part of child actors’ pay to be set aside in a protected trust fund. “I’ve been working on a secret project that dives into this.” He added in another comment, “Hudson will see a father protecting him when he had no voice, his childhood is not for sale. … As a parent, I have no worry in shouldering the cost to protect him.”
Anstead filed documents in court in September claiming that Hudon’s involvement in the Flip or Flop star’s Instagram ads and television shows were exploitative. “The risks for a child working on a television production set (even if that ‘set’ is Christina’s home) are innumerable and well documented,” Anstead wrote in documents obtained by Us Weekly.”Putting aside the obvious pressures of working within a TV production environment, children involved in television production often have lingering issues that affect their welfare, worldview, and self-image, leaving them diminished and dependent upon the perceived approval of others for their self-worth.”
He continued: “It is my goal to ensure that Hudson is allowed a childhood that is joyful, healthy, and natural, with as few stresses as possible, and this should be prioritized above creating commercial opportunity and content.” The Christina on the Coast star, who also shares daughter Taylor, 12, and son Brayden, 7, with ex-husband Tarek El Moussa, fired back at Anstead’s claims in her own filing.
“The allegation that I am ‘exploiting’ our son is truly offensive and simply untrue,” she wrote in a declaration. “After seeing what Ant has written in his Supplemental Declaration it is clear that his motivation is not Hudson’s best interest. The allegation that I am ‘exploiting’ our son is truly offensive and simply untrue. After seeing what Ant has written in his Supplemental Declaration it is clear that his motivation is not Hudson’s best interest.”
