Anthony Edwards’ ex Ayesha Howard denied she was attempting to extort the NBA star when she asked for a six-figure sum as part of their court battle, Us Weekly can exclusively report.
On August 7, Howard, 38, filed a declaration in Los Angeles Superior Court as she fights Edwards, 24, over what state child support will be established for their daughter, Aubri Summers Howard, born in October 2024.
In the letter, Howard claimed Edwards’ team dragging out the case has had “real and harmful effects.” She scoffed at claims Edwards was unhappy with the legal fees he was racking up in the case. She pointed out that Edwards is a “multimillionaire” while she was a “single mother fighting unsupported against Edwards’ “well-paid” legal team.
She said Edwards’ attempt to frame her request for compensation as some sort of extortion is “downright sick.”
Howard added, “To continue to make such allegations with knowledge of my absence from work, lost wages, opportunities, and lack of support for almost two years — starting during pregnancy and after childbirth due to his client [abandoning me during] my entire pregnancy, leaving me unsupported up until this day is offensive.”
“My request for financial assistance was not an act of coercion or malice — it was a direct response to the prolonged hardship I’ve endured,” Howard added. “I am a single mother who has been left to raise a child without support, while [Edwards] frames his temporary legal discomfort as injustice, all while avoiding meaningful parental responsibility.” Howard pleaded for the paperwork to be executed immediately.
Howard tells Us, “Over the past two years, I’ve endured significant reputational damage, lost opportunities, and a lack of support. The efforts to distort the truth only add to the harm caused by these ongoing misrepresentations.”
As Us previously reported, Howard and Edwards have been going back and forth on executing paperwork granting Howard sole custody of their daughter. Edwards made it clear in the case that he had no interest in visitation or custody.
The L.A. judge granted Howard (who has an older son with rapper Lil Baby) sole custody of Aubri, but the parties have yet to sign the paperwork. Howard claimed Edwards’ team sent over custody documents that included a non-disparagement clause. She said she never agreed to that.
In court, Howard claimed she needed the paperwork signed before the court would set child support. She blamed Edwards’ team for dragging out the case.
As Us first reported, Edwards claimed Howard was the one holding things up. He claimed she demanded a $500,000 lump sum and a public apology if she agreed to the non-disparagement clause.
In an alleged letter sent by Howard to Edwards’ team, she said, “[Edwards] must issue a formal, public apology posted on all of his official social media platforms, publicly retracting all false, defamatory, or misleading statements made about me during this litigation, and affirming my integrity and my role as the mother of our daughter.”
Howard previously told Us, “I want to make it clear that my request for compensation was never tied to agreeing to any custody orders. I asked for compensation due to the substantial financial and reputational damages I’ve endured during this prolonged litigation with Anthony Edwards.”
After Aubri’s birth, Howard filed a paternity case in L.A. and Edwards filed a separate case in Georgia. The L.A. court ruled that child support would not be set in California despite Howard’s pleas. She is attempting to overturn that decision.
The L.A. judge did award Howard sole legal and physical custody after Edwards said he had no interest in either.
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