Tyrese was stunned when his ex-wife claimed her job is "living life".
The ‘Fast and Furious’ star has a court-ordered child support deal with Norma Gibson – the mother of his 11-year-old daughter Shayla – that is designed to help her work towards becoming self-sufficient but they are in dispute because he doesn’t want to pay her escalating costs for babysitters.
According to documents obtained by TMZ, Tyrese claimed Norma sat for a deposition and was asked by an attorney what she had done on August 21 to have required seven hours of childcare bills, and she explained she had been busy "living life".
She further explained: "I am working. I am working on my book. I am working on my life. I am running errands at home."
The 39-year-old actor and his team insist Norma simply feels no obligation to find a job or contribute financially to raising Shayla because Tyrese is rich and able to cover all the costs.
The ‘Death Race’ actor previously requested receipts for the $25-an-hour childcare being used by his ex-wife because he wanted proof the bills existed as if Norma has no job, there’s no reason why she would need childcare.
He also felt he shouldn’t be paying the bill if it was for Norma’s personal reasons, such as going out for dinner without their daughter.
Tyrese argued the court never laid out guidelines for when he has to reimburse Norma for childcare, or how many hours she can ask him to pay for.
Over the summer, the ‘Transformers’ actor – who also has daughter Soraya, seven weeks, with wife Samantha – sought primary custody of Shayla, arguing it was in the youngster’s "best interest" to relocate from Los Angeles to his house in Atlanta.
He claimed in legal documents that he has "created a stable and loving environment" for his daughter, as he lives "in a 23,000 square foot home in an affluent and safe neighbourhood in Atlanta", and she would have her own bedroom and bathroom at the property, complete with an extra set of bunk beds for when she decides to bring friends over to stay the night.
If Shayla does move to Atlanta, Tyrese has also promised to ensure she still keeps up a good relationship with Norma, and has even offered to pay for his daughter’s flights back to Los Angeles to visit.
Tyrese was awarded joint custody of Shayla last year after a lengthy and difficult court case which saw Norma allege that he had been physically violent to their daughter.