Ambyr Childers secures temporary restraining order against controversial producer Randall Emmett
After months of claiming she was fearful for her safety, actress Ambyr Childers has been granted a temporary restraining order against her ex-husband, Randall Emmett.
On Dec. 22, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge ordered the filmmaker to stay 100 yards from Childers, whom he was married to for eight years. The court order also forbids Emmett from contacting Childers unless it is a “brief and peaceful” interaction to discuss visitation of the pair’s two daughters.
Childers, 34, has been seeking protection from Emmett since October, when her initial request for a domestic violence restraining order was turned down by a judge who cited lack of proof.
Late last month, however, Childers filed another petition with the court in which she said in a supporting declaration that on Dec. 6 she was contacted by an FBI special agent who asked her about Emmett’s “suspected activities with child exploitation and pedophilia.”
Childers, an actress who has appeared in “You,” “Ray Donovan” and “All My Children,” claimed in the declaration that the FBI call caused her “extreme destruction and disturbance of [her] emotional calm and peace of mind” because the former couple’s daughters, ages 12 and 9, “are often alone” with their father.
Further, Childers added in the declaration, she does not want to “run the risk” of the children being with Emmett if “federal law enforcement serve either an arrest or search warrant on him or on his premises.”
A spokeswoman for the FBI told The Times that she was “unable to confirm or deny the existence of an investigation” per the department’s policy.
Childers declined to comment for this story. In a statement provided to the Times, Emmett, 51, said Thursday he was “not being investigated by the FBI nor anyone else, and the notion that I am is beyond absurd.”
“There is zero evidence that I’m being investigated for anything,” the filmmaker continued. “I am shocked and in utter disbelief that Ambyr would even hint at something so disgusting and untrue.”
He added that he and Childers still share joint legal custody of their children — the court rejected a request to restrain him from being 100 yards from them — and said her claims were “designed to hurt my career without any evidence whatsoever.”
Since Childers filed her petition, The Times has spoken with three other individuals who said they were contacted by FBI agents inquiring about Emmett’s activities and that they provided information.
A hearing on Childers’ request for a domestic violence restraining order is scheduled for Jan.12.
The ex-fiance of reality star Lala Kent faces the collapse of his company amid a trail of lawsuits, civil fraud charges and allegations of abusive behavior.
On Thursday, Childers’ attorney, Larry Bakman, disputed a claim made by Emmett’s family attorney, Heather M. Patrick, that attorneys for the parties are in the midst of “globally resolving the unfounded allegations” against Emmett.
“The Court issued protective orders against Randall Emmett premised upon a prima facie showing of abuse. If Emmett contends she is lying, he should try the matter in a Court of Law rather than the media,” Bakman said. “I can confirm that Emmett’s prior counsel has never once reached out to discuss settlement.”
He added that he was “open to discussing settlement terms and conditions on behalf of my client” with Emmett’s new counsel.
Emmett, best known for making low-budget action films featuring aging stars, was the subject of a Times investigation published last June. In that story, Emmett was accused of offering acting work in exchange for sexual favors, owing millions of dollars to investors and allegedly forcing his assistants to engage in illegal activity on his behalf. Emmett adamantly denied all of these allegations.
In her most recent court filing, Childers alleged that Emmett was “physically and emotionally abusive” to her during their marriage. She claimed that after she declined to sign a post-nuptial financial agreement around 2015, Emmett became upset and placed his left hand around her neck, “squeezing with such force that [Childers] had difficulty breathing.” A year later, during a 2016 discussion about the same potential agreement, she said in the filing he “again attempted to strangle” her.
Emmett’s litigation attorney, Suann C. MacIsaac, said that “Mr. Emmett adamantly denies all of the allegations in Ms. Childer’s recent declaration.”
The allegations echoed claims Childers made in her October request for a restraining order, which she said she filed after receiving “threatening” correspondence from Emmett’s family law attorney. Childers alleged that she and Emmett were discussing their daughters over email when her ex-husband “intentionally” sent a message that included a copy of an exchange between him and his lawyer, Ben Valencia.
In the email, Valencia and Emmett were apparently discussing the situation with Childers when the lawyer asked Emmett if he’d be able to “get some real money together so we can take this c— out once and for all,” Childers alleged in both of her court filings in October and December.
Childers claimed it was Valencia who, in 2017, directed Emmett to “hire a private investigator who then placed [a] tracking device on my car,” according to the court documents.
Childers is not the only one of Emmett’s former romantic partners to accuse him of physical abuse. “Vanderpump Rules” star Lala Kent, the producer’s ex-fiancée and the mother of his third daughter, alleged that he once “tackled” her.
Kent said that in Oct. 2021, she suspected Emmett was cheating on her and demanded to look at his phone. When she grabbed it from him, he ran after her and “knocked her to the ground,” she told The Times last year, echoing claims she made in her request for custody of her child with Emmett.
“I used every ounce of strength to get him off of me as he was trying to pry it from my hands,” Kent said. The Times spoke with five people who said Kent quickly told them about the altercation, but Emmett denied the incident was physical and his longtime nanny, Isabelle Morales, said that “neither was on the ground.”
Kent is separately involved in a custody battle for the 1-year-old child she shares with Emmett.
Her attorney, Daniel J. Paletz, said Thursday that he and Kent were aware of the allegations contained in Childers’ restraining order request.
“We are deeply concerned about these allegations,” Paletz said. “At this time, our sole focus is on the safety of the children and ensuring that the children and any possible victims who may come forward be protected.”
Emmett separately resolved a lawsuit brought by a former assistant, who alleged the producer created an abusive work environment at his longtime production company, Emmett Furla Oasis. Martin G’Blae sued the once-prominent filmmaker in November, accusing him of racial discrimination and creating a hostile workplace that included the use of the N-word. Neither side would discuss the settlement.
EFO made about a dozen Bruce Willis movies over the years, including “Midnight in the Switchgrass” and “Hard Kill.” Emmett was also one of the producers on Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-nominated “The Irishman” for Netflix.
The biggest entertainment stories
Get our big stories about Hollywood, film, television, music, arts, culture and more right in your inbox as soon as they publish.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
