‘NCIS: New Orleans’ star Zoe McLellan has received a heated accusation from her ex-husband, claiming that the actress kidnapped their son. According to to TMZ, McLellan gave her ex-husband and actor J.P. Gillain two days notice that she would be taking their son with her to Canada. She planned on bringing their 4-year-old son Sebastian to the set of the political drama series Designated Survivor, as she had acquired a role for the show.
But now, Zoe’s ex-husband is demanding that the former Dirty Sexy Money actor bring back their son. He has even asked a judge to order his son back to the states. Meanwhile, McLellan has been battling for Sebastian’s custody rights for a while. Zoe claims to be their son’s primary care giver, and would prefer if her son moves to Canada with her. She believes she can better accommodate the needs of her young son.
However, her ex, J.P. Gillain is arguing that their boy needs stability in his life, and uprooting him to better suit his mother’s acting aspirations isn’t what’s best for a 4-year-old child.
“For his part, Gillain says his ex-wife basically held a gun to his head, demanding he consent to the move and agree to work out a new custody deal,” reports TMZ.
Zoe and her husband has been fighting for custody over their son for years. In 2014, McLellan felt that Gillain only wanted joint-custody in order to take advantage of his ex-wife’s lucrative acting career. At the time, he worked as a waiter, while she had just inked a deal to star on NCIS: New Orleans. She’d be making a whopping $45k per episode, while he gained whatever salary a waiter can at the time. That year, Zoe had alleged in court documents that Gillain was not at all involved with Sebastian’s life and didn’t even know to put him to bed.
McLellan spoke to Huffington Post about the ups and downs of being a single mom. “My experience has been a lot of different things as a single mom in the industry — everything from being almost shamed to being celebrated and respected,” she said. “I know that being a mom has made me a better actress and a better person. And I know that the creative outlet of acting helps me be a great mom.”
She believes responds positively to her acting career. The NCIS: New Orleans actress said, “Sebastian likes to see me happy — whether it’s visiting me on set or watching a ‘Heart Screams’ video.”
Zoe is set to join the cast of the Designated Survivor for their second season. She’ll play the role of Kendra Daynes, “a wise and brilliant attorney who has to navigate through the legal and personal issues of everyday life as well as in the White House.”
