Kanye West, 44, launched a massive verbal attack against soon-to-be ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, 41, via Instagram on Feb. 4 — prompting the mother of North, 8, Saint, 6, Chicago, 4, and Psalm, 2, to publicly defend herself for the first time against his remarks. And now, as the former A-list couple continue to hash out their ongoing divorce, California based family attorney, Joanne Ratinoff, told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY that Kanye’s “derogatory remarks” could have an impact on his bid for joint custody of their four kids. “It depends on the age of the kids. If they’re reading it and they can get a bad impression when one parent is making derogatory remarks about the other, then yes that can affect custody,” Attorney Ratinoff said.
As those who follow the famous family know, their eldest daughter, North, is already social-media savvy. In fact, North’s joint TikTok account with her mom Kim is what caused Kanye to publicly bash Kardashian on Feb. 4. In a post shared to Ye’s 10 million followers, he shared a screenshot of North on Tik Tok, along with the caption that read, “SINCE THIS IS MY FIRST DIVORCE, I NEED TO KNOW WHAT I SHOULD DO ABOUT MY DAUGHTER BEING PUT ON TIK TOK AGAINST MY WILL?” Following Kanye’s posts, Kim took to her Instagram story to reply, with a statement that said, “Kanye’s constant attacks on me in interviews and on social media is actually more hurtful than any Tik Tok North might create. As the parent who is the main provider and caregiver for our children, I am doing my best to protect our daughter while also allowing her to express her creativity in the medium that she wishes with adult supervision — because it brings her happiness.”
Kanye clearly did not like Kim’s “main provider” comment and took to his Instagram to fire back at her with a statement that said, “What do you mean by main provider? America saw you try to kidnap my daughter on her birthday by not providing the address You put security on me inside of the house to play with my son then accused me of stealing I had to take a drug test after Chicago’s party because you accused me of being on drugs Tracy Romulus stop manipulating Kim to be this way…” Tracy is frequently seen with Kim, and works with the reality star as Chief Marketing Officer of brands KKW Beauty, KKW Fragrance and SKIMS.
This was not the first time that Kanye has said that Kim is not permitted to do TikTok videos with North. But according to Attorney Ratinoff, there may not be anything wrong with North having some fun on social media under her mom’s supervision. “Social media is a matter of for the family law judge to make orders in the minor’s best interest. One parent will have to make an application to the court for a protective order. A regular hearing takes 16 calendar days of notice, but it depends on the judge’s schedule when they would be able to get in, the attorney told HollywoodLife. “The parent would have to file an RFO, which is a Request For Order, a written application, which is basically saying ‘I want these orders made to protect my child. If the parents can’t mutually agree, then the court will decide.”
Another lawyer, Morghan Leia Richardson, EXCLUSIVELY told HollywoodLife how Kim might be able to help keep the drama out of the public’s eye. “Kim should seek a restraining order or gag order to request that issues pertaining to the divorce or child custody situation be blocked from social media and the press,” Richardson explained. She also suggested Kim try for “sole custody” in the divorce proceedings.