Christina Hall Fires Back at Ant Anstead’s Claim She ‘Exploits’ Their Son and Puts Him at Risk
Ant Anstead and Christina Hall have been battling for custody of their son Hudson for months, and the HGTV star just fired back at her ex-husband’s most recent allegations that she “exploits” the toddler. Here’s an update on the former couple’s custody case and what Hall said about Anstead’s accusations.
Ant Anstead accused Christina Hall of ‘exploiting’ their son amid custody battle
Christina Hall and Ant Anstead have been fighting for custody of their three-year-old son Hudson for months. The former couple got married in December 2018, and their son Hudson was born in September 2019. They separated in September 2020, and their divorce was finalized in June 2021.
In April, Anstead filed for emergency custody and accused Hall of endangering their child and putting him at medical risk, among other allegations. The HGTV star filed court documents refuting Anstead’s allegations, and his order for emergency custody was denied. The two stars were required to attend mediation and had court dates in June and September.
On Sept. 26, the English TV presenter filed a supplemental declaration saying that while many of his and Hall’s custody problems were resolved “without the need for court intervention,” there is “just one unresolved issue between us; whether or not it is in Hudson’s best interests to have his name, image, and likeliness exploited in commercials and he be compelled to appear on Christina’s ‘reality TV’ shows” (per In Touch).
Anstead accused Hall of exploiting the toddler in social media ads, and even compared Hudson to Toddlers and Tiaras star Kailia Posey. Posey, who became the subject of the popular “grinning girl” meme, died by suicide in May at age 16.
Christina Hall fired back at Ant Anstead’s accusations
After Ant Anstead filed his supplemental declaration accusing Christina Hall of exploiting their son, Hall fired back in a statement to In Touch.
“I have never exploited our son Hudson,” a rep for Hall told the publication. “He appeared in a few of my own Instagram ads that each took less than five minutes to film. I have all the footage and they were all fun activities that he enjoyed doing, such as playing with toys or making cookies.”
She explained that the toddler was never “forced” to participate in these activities, and no production crew was involved. “These were organic moments in Hudson’s eyes,” Hall’s statement said. “Nothing was forced, and they were filmed with a cell phone, not a production team.”
The HGTV star accused her ex-husband of hypocrisy
Besides refuting Ant Anstead’s claims in their custody battle, Christina Hall also accused the English TV presenter of hypocrisy.
In her statement, Hall revealed that Anstead never had an issue with Hudson or his two children from a previous marriage being on camera before they divorced.
“He repeatedly asked his ex-wife to allow his older kids to film with us and advocated for them to be on film in the show. It was Ant’s ex-wife who did not want their children to be filmed, not Ant,” Hall said in her statement. “Ant has been told repeatedly that I do not have a problem with Hudson not filming, I just want him to be involved with the fun opportunities and activities that my show affords to our family.”
She also pointed out that Anstead tags his business Radford in posts containing their child. “It is Ant who insists that he be able to use Hudson in social media posts to promote the post and expand its ‘organic’ reach.”
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