While Keke Palmer’s presumed ex-boyfriend Darius Jackson is dealing with a restraining order and domestic abuse allegations, it appears trouble is trickling down the family tree as his older brother, Insecure star Sarunas Jackson, is now facing a legal battle of his own.
Per court documents, Sarunas recently filed for joint legal and physical custody of his five-year-old daughter, Zen, of whom he shares with fellow Insecure star Dominque Perry—claiming that child lives in California. However, Dominque is fighting back and asking a judge to deny Sarunas’ request, citing the fact that the child’s primary residence is Houston where she was born she’s been the primary caregiver and the child lives exclusively with her, and that child is only in California when she books gigs.
“While pregnant, I returned to Texas to deliver Zen. Zen was born in Houston, Texas. I maintain a home in the State of Texas and Texas is where I spend the great majority of my time. And because I have always been Zen’s primary caregiver, Zen travels with me and has exclusively lived with me making her permanent home in Texas as well,” she said per court documents obtained by RadarOnline.
While Dominque admitted to being dedicated to maintaining “a positive co-parenting” relationship with Sarunas for the ‘best interest’ of Zen,” where things get interesting is that she alleged that the Insecure actor also displayed “emotional volatility and intimidation” towards her. She also hinted that Sarunas isn’t as present of a parental figure when he does see their daughter due to his career and consistent travel, which causes her concern.
“[Sarunas’] visitation routines are dependent upon when he expresses a desire to see her. Generally, [Sarunas] requests to see Zen are sporadic. Because [Sarunas] has attained a certain level of success in his career, he generally works and has to travel even more than I do. I am concerned with whom Zen may be left with in the face of his extended absences,” she wrote.
What’s more, Dominque also claimed that the news of his filing for joint custody took her by surprise and is a result of her decision to move back to Texas—even though she had allegedly already told Sarunas of her plans to relocate back in September because she could no longer afford to split her time between Texas and California. She also claimed that Sarunas didn’t object the news of her move, but now that he’s filed for joint custody, her plans are at a standstill while this plays out in court.
This news comes just one day after the drama between Sarunas’ little brother Darius Jackson and Keke Palmer took a messy turn on Monday. As previously reported by The Root, Keke’s mother Sharon, posted a video blasting Sarunas for trying to appear like a “special guy” amid all the drama when she claims she told him about his brother’s abusive ways towards her daughter over a year ago. Additionally, Dominque also alluded to her own experience with abuse and said that in due time everyone would listen to her story and that she’d be “vindicated.”