Channing Tatum Accuses Ex Jenna Dewan of Using “Delaying Tactics”
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Originally appeared on E! Online
Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan's divorce continues to grow contentious.
Though the Step Up alums—who share 10-year-old daughter Everly—broke up almost six years ago, their divorce proceedings continue, with Channing's continued earnings from the Magic Mike franchise at the center of the dispute. Last month, Jenna filed a petition seeking a portion of Channing's total profits from the films and which accused her ex of hiding part of his earnings.
However, in new court documents obtained by E! News, Channing—who is engaged to Zoë Kravitz—says Jenna's accusations are false.
"I have never denied Petitioner her share of any community assets or income," he said in a May 2 filing. "I have always agreed for Petitioner to have an interest in the Magic Mike intellectual property and related entities."
Channing continued, "During our marriage, Petitioner had equal access to our business managers and financial records. We communicated about our work and various projects on a regular basis. Since our separation, Petitioner has had complete access to all our financial records for all activities during our marriage and since separation."
The documents also argue that Jenna's petition are intended to further impede their divorce.
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"It is designed to delay the processing of the case and increase the expense of litigation and will not, in any way, promote 'early resolution by settlement,' the documents argue, "in a case where five separate mediation sessions have resulted in Petitioner's simply ignoring a tendered proposed judgment for months."
E! News has reached out to both Channing and Jenna's legal teams for comment and has not yet heard back.
In Jenna's April 10 filing her lawyers argued "intellectual property" from Channing's Magic Mike appearances has grown into a "multi-million cultural phenomenon," and, because the original film and its first sequel came out during their marriage, it should be considered "community in character."
The three-part film series—loosely based on Channing's own experiences as a male stripper in Tampa—earned about $167.2 million globally after the initial 2012 film, with its most recent and final installment, 2023's Magic Mike's Last Dance garnered $57.1 million, per The Hollywood Reporter.
At the time of Jenna's April filing, Channing's legal team initially responded in a same-day filing of their own. As seen in documents obtained by NBC News, Channing's legal team claimed that Jenna—who shares son Callum, 4, with Steve Kazee and is currently pregnant with their second baby—has "been involved in all aspects of community investments, opportunities and transactions" concerning the Magic Mike franchise.
Amid the April filings were also a list of preliminary witnesses for their proceedings submitted by both Jenna and Channing, which includes Magic Mike directors Steven Soderbergh and Greg Jacobs, the franchise's producers Nick Wechsler and Peter Kiernan and screenwriter Reid Carolin, as seen in documents obtained by E! News.
For more on Jenna and Channing's years-long split, keep reading.
(NBC News and E! News are both part of NBCUniversal.)
Legally Single But...Divorce Dance Continues
While the two were declared legally separated in 2019 after eight years of marriage, the Step Up costars remain in dispute over financial matters.
Magic Mike Money?
In April 2024, Jenna filed documents, obtained by E! News, requesting that she and Tatum "testify regarding all issues related to the parties’ marriage including business and financial activities."
She also submitted a preliminary exhibit list that requests personal and corporate tax returns and other financial documents, including those regarding profits from the Magic Mike franchise.
Magic Dispute
The Rookie actress alleges in the case that they acquired the Magic Mike intellectual property together. She accuses Tatum of putting its earnings into "an irrevocable trust" and transferred licensing rights to a third party without telling her, People reported, citing court documents.
Tatum disputed her claim in his own filing, obtained by E! News.
"The Magic Mike intellectual property was created during marriage and various entities that relate to the intellectual property were created during marriage and after separation," the documents state. "[Tatum] has expended extensive efforts since separation towards the enhancement of the Magic Mike intellectual property and related entities, which [he] contends give rise to his separate property interest therein."
The court, his attorney notes in the filing, "will need to allocate the community interest and [Tatum's] separate property interest in the intellectual property and related entities in consideration of [his] post-separation efforts."
Magic Witnesses
Dewan included in her preliminary witness list several people who worked on the Magic Mike trilogy with Tatum, including director Steven Soderbergh and producers Nick Wechsler and Peter Kiernan.
Steve Kazee to Enter the Chat
In his own preliminary witness list, filed in court one day after Dewan submitted her documents and also obtained by E! News, Tatum included his ex-wife's fiancé Steve Kazee, with whom she is expecting her third child.
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