Sia and her estranged husband, Dan Bernard, are hurling jaw-dropping allegations at each other in a nasty battle over custody of their child.
In court documents obtained by TMZ on Tuesday, Bernard requested sole custody of their 1-year-old son, Somersault “Summi,” alleging that Sia is a “serious and immediate danger” to the toddler.
“Sia is an unfit and unreliable parent struggling with substance abuse and addiction, rendering her incapable of providing safe or stable care for Summi,” Bernard, an oncologist, alleged to the court.
“I am the only safe and reliable parent for our son. I am a doctor, young, healthy and have no criminal history or drug or alcohol addiction issues.”
Bernard alleged that the Australian pop star, 49, deliberately concealed that she was hospitalized in Los Angeles for two weeks last month after testing positive for barbiturates and benzodiazepines, with no legitimate medical explanation.
He wants his estranged wife to be ordered to random and regular drug testing. He is also asking for her to be limited to two-hour professionally monitored visits with Summi, three times a week.
Sia — who admitted to struggling with substance abuse 15 years ago — denied the allegations in her response, claiming she’s been clean and sober for over six months.
“Dan’s attempt to weaponize my past sobriety journey … serves no legitimate purpose and is intended only to distort the facts and undermine my credibility,” she told the court.
She went on to insist that she has repeatedly agreed to regular drug testing for both parents, claiming it was Bernard who refused to comply.
The singer — who has had full custody of Summi since she filed for divorce in March after two years of marriage — argued that there is no emergency reason to grant full custody to Bernard.
In fact, she claimed that they had already agreed in August to give him very restricted professionally monitored visits because he was allegedly under investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department and the Department of Children and Family Services for “illicit child pornography” found on his computer hard drive.
Sia told the court she demanded the changes to Bernard’s visitation rights after being informed of the probe.
According to a declaration submitted by Sia in the case, the result of the investigation was allegedly inconclusive, and the case was therefore closed. But the Grammy winner said she is still worried about Summi spending unsupervised time with his father.
Bernard denied his involvement with child porn and alleged that Sia “planted evidence” to restrict his parenting time with their child.
If you or someone you care about is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
