halo

“Little Mermaid” star Halle Bailey and her rapper ex-boyfriend DDG decided this week to temporarily put their differences aside in their months-long custody battle over their 1-year-old son, Halo.

The pair of musicians, who dated from 2022 to 2024, agreed to drop their mutual domestic violence restraining order requests and settled on temporary custody terms to co-parent their child, according to a stipulation filed Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The stipulation, signed by both parties, is a significant development in the exes’ dispute, which came to a head in the summer.

When Bailey (of the “Do It” sister-singer duo Chloë x Halle) and DDG (born Darryl Dwayne Granberry Jr.) announced their split in October 2024, the latter said “we are still best friends and adore each other” and would work to co-parent their son. But tension between the exes surfaced in May after Bailey secured a temporary restraining order alleging the father of her child was abusive throughout their two-year relationship and had continued to behave badly since their breakup. “Darryl has been and continues to be physically, verbally, emotionally, and financially abusive towards me,” she said at the time, according to court documents. Bailey, 25, requested that DDG, 28, be ordered to stay away from her and their son.

Influencer DDG, known for the 2016 single “Balenciaga,” fired back with allegations against Bailey and a request for his own domestic violence restraining order. He accused his ex-girlfriend of “emotional instability and coercive control,” raised concern about her “repeated threats of suicide and self-harm” and alleged instances where she “endangered the child’s safety while in emotional distress.”

Though the stipulation states both Bailey and DDG must “immediately dismiss” their restraining order requests, they can each file new requests in case of future abuse.

Court documents say that Bailey will have physical custody over Halo except on Wednesdays and certain weekends. The stipulation also outlines a custody agreement for birthdays and the upcoming holidays.

The latest court documents also address each parent’s social media use, which proved to be a point of contention after the breakup. Notably, DDG brought baby Halo with him for Twitch star Kai Cenat’s livestream in November 2024.

“Neither party shall post, upload or disseminate on the internet or any social media platforms, photographs, images, and or/information regarding the Minor Child,” court documents say. Friends and family of the two musicians are also barred from posting about Halo. Additionally, neither Bailey nor DDG can “disparage the party publicly” or in the presence of their child, who turns 2 in December.

Bailey was a fan of DDG years before they became an item. After sparking up a romance via social media DMs, the former pair made their red carpet debut at the 2022 BET Awards. The singer was vocal about how she was smitten with DDG, telling Essence the romance was her “first deep, deep, real love.”

Through their time together, the former couple faced their share of ups and downs — including DDG’s diss track about his ex’s starring role in “The Little Mermaid” and some criticism from Bailey’s older sister Ski Bailey.

Halle Bailey currently has more than just family matters on her plate.

She released her debut solo album, “Love?…or Something Like It,” on Friday. Upon announcing the release earlier this month, she said on Instagram that the project is a “story of first love, heartbreak, and everything that comes after.”

Times assistant editor Christie D’Zurilla and editorial library director Cary Schneider contributed to this report.

DDG has failed for now in his attempt to get a domestic violence restraining order preventing Halle Bailey from taking their son, Halo, out of the country — but not for lack of trying.

The rapper, real name Darryl Dwayne Granberry Jr., made serious allegations about Bailey in a new court filing this week after she served him with a domestic violence restraining order in mid-May. DDG must keep his distance from his “The Little Mermaid” ex and their son, who turns 2 in October. He was also ordered to refrain from contacting them in any way, including electronically.

On Wednesday, when a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge was expected to consider whether to make the temporary order more permanent, the 27-year-old influencer’s attorney requested that Bailey be prevented from traveling internationally with Halo, specifically to Italy, alleging there was a risk she would kidnap the child. The filing also asked that the hearing be continued to a later date.

DDG’s team got the later date. His attorney did not reply to The Times’ request for comment.

The domestic violence restraining order request, which was denied pending a hearing later this month, was supported by DDG’s version of some of the same incidents his 25-year-old ex cited in her May filing, according to court documents reviewed by The Times. It includes declarations from Tonya Granberry, DDG’s mother, and George Charlston, her fiancée, who is also DDG’s driver, alleging they found Apple AirTags that had been hidden in the rapper’s vehicles and in Halo’s diaper bag, presumably by Bailey.

DDG’s team complained in his filing about Bailey’s alleged “emotional instability and coercive control,” her “repeated threats of suicide and self-harm” and instances where she “endangered the child’s safety while in emotional distress.”

The filing includes text exchanges in which Bailey sent myriad frantic-sounding messages, many more than DDG replied with. In one exchange, which occurred after he drove off following an argument in 2022, Bailey sent texts “claiming she had a knife and implying she would harm herself if he did not return,” the filing says.

“YOI HATE ME AND WANT ME TO DIE!!!” she said amid a flurry of text messages in March 2024, according to the filing, following up with texts saying “I WANT TO DIE BECAUSE OF YOU!!!” and “I WILL DIE BECAUSE OF YOU!!!”

In February, Bailey told DDG via text that “everyday i want to die because of the way you embarrass me online and allow other women to speak on me,” the filing says.

The two dated for two years before breaking up in October 2023; their son was born a couple of months later. Bailey allegedly “weaponized” her pregnancy to try to persuade DDG to reconcile with her, the filing says. The court filing alleges she tried to medically abort Halo in June 2023 but didn’t take the second dose of medication that would complete the task.

The rapper said the singer-actor went through his phone while he was asleep, slapped and punched him during a fight over the phone, falsely claimed that he slammed her head into his car’s steering wheel during a custody exchange and surveilled him by planting Apple AirTags in his vehicles.

He accused her in the filing of tracking the AirTags to show up uninvited to events and studio sessions where he was, “often resulting in confrontations.”

“During emotional outbursts,” the filing says, Bailey “has destroyed my personal property including my laptop that contained critical music and content word” and “stole my legally owned firearm during an argument in August of 2023 and was found outside the house in possession of it.”

In March 2024, Bailey allegedly sent DDG “a series of alarming text messages threatening to kill herself and suggesting that their infant son, Halo, might also be harmed,” the document says. “She then proceeded to drive her vehicle — with the child in the car — while in an emotionally unhinged state. [DDG] was so disturbed by her condition that he immediately contacted [her] godmother to intervene and assist.”

The filing, which includes photos of a gash in DDG’s thumb that he said Bailey caused, notes that similar exchanges happened last September and October, demonstrating that Bailey’s alleged “instability is not a thing of the past, but a present and ongoing danger.”

Bailey’s attorney did not respond immediately to The Times’ request for comment.

DDG found out about Bailey’s restraining order against him via a phone alert in the middle of a livestream in May — no advance notice of the request was given because Bailey, according to court documents, was afraid he would retaliate with violence or by taking Halo out of the area.

In her declaration, Bailey accused DDG of “badmouthing” her to his millions of fans on Twitch and YouTube whenever he “wants to cause upset.”

“He claims I am withholding our son and that I am with other men. As a result, I then receive threats and hate on social media. He seems to try to set up drama for his fans. He goes ‘live’ ranting about me and alleges that I am keeping Halo from him. This is false. I have requested a set schedule, which he refuses.”

She also said he frequently calls her “b—” and says she is “evil.” She detailed one physical altercation from January of this year that ended with her bruised with a chipped tooth. Bailey was giving DDG their son and strapping him into the rapper-streamer’s car when, according to her filing, she asked when the child would be returned. A verbal dispute quickly turned physical, the court document said, and he pulled her hair and slammed her face into the steering wheel.

But DDG says that is false — according to his filing, she hit the steering wheel while launching herself forward from the back seat while trying to hit him. He says he attempted to “shield himself” by holding her arms down so she couldn’t keep hitting him.

“I wanted to get out of the car with Halo but was now stuck,” Bailey said in her filing. “Darryl then said that since I would not leave the baby in the car, he would take me with them. He drove quickly towards his house. When we arrived at his house, I was crying and told his family what happened. I begged his family who were there to help me figure out a schedule with him. They said just leave Halo and go. I left hysterical.”

A hearing in the case is now scheduled for July 24.

On Thursday evening, DDG lamented his public status on X (formerly Twitter) and got a heaping helping of backlash in return.

“now I know how michael jackson felt being famous,” he wrote. “s— crazy.”

For the most part, X users did not agree. Here’s a sampling of the reactions:

“let’s aim lower, ur more latoya jackson in terms of fame.”

“You are a Z lister. Stop comparing yourself to an actual talented man who had streets closed down for him and was globally recognized.”

“Everyones crazy is their own crazy. But Michael Jackson lived a life few can even imagine. Its not really the same.”

“mj performed for presidents, royalty, and broke world records. and you? you went viral on TIKTOK. oh come on man, be SERIOUS.”

“You’re not famous bro … You’re just known.”