Lala Kent spoke out about her ongoing custody battle with Randall Emmett over their 1-year-old daughter, Ocean Kent Emmett, on Friday after a report alleged the film producer was being investigated by the FBI in regard to “suspected child exploitation and pedophilia.”
After the 32-year-old Vanderpump Rules cast member was questioned about the number of custody rights Randall, 51, has to their child, if any, Lala hinted at hardships within the family court system as Randall took to social media to defend his name against what he says are “lies.”
“If you haven’t dealt with the family court system, you wouldn’t understand,” Lala told the curious fan, via Page Six, who asked if Randall had “any custody” rights to Ocean, who they welcomed in March 2021.
As Pump Rules fans may know, the disturbing claims against Randall were revealed in a court filing by his ex-wife, Ambyr Childers, who requested her second restraining order against him at the end of last month. According to a Los Angeles Times report, Ambyr said a call from the FBI regarding Randall’s “suspected activities with child exploitation” understandingly caused “extreme destruction and disturbance of [her] emotional calm and peace of mind.”
Ambyr and Randall share two daughters, London, 12, and Rylee, 9, whom Ambyr is seeking “sole legal and physical custody” of “for a variety of reasons.”
“[Randall’s] possible involvement in child exploitation and pedophilia, along with the fact that he is being actively investigated by federal law enforcement, dictates that he should not be allowed to have the children other than with a professional monitor,” Ambyr had written in her filing.
And while the Times also spoke to three other people who spoke to the FBI, Randall has denied the investigation entirely.
“Anyone can say whatever they want in a pleading; that doesn’t make it true,” he told Page Six .”There is zero evidence that I’m being investigated for anything, and we still share 50/50 custody of our children. I am shocked and in utter disbelief that Ambyr would even hint at something so disgusting and untrue.”
He also defended himself in a video shared on his Instagram page on Friday.
“I am at a place where I felt I had to come on here and say something that actually was truth, versus the last 11, 12, 14 months that things have been said about me, everything under the sun, you know, narcissist, cheater… At the end of the day, I took the high road because I have three beautiful girls that I didn’t want to be out there. I didn’t want to have to do this. But at this point, the lies have been stretched so far,” he began.
“We spent today getting confirmation, because we knew there was no truth to any of this, that the FBI has never been investigating me and isn’t investigating me because there’s nothing to investigate,” he insisted. “But unfortunately, in this culture, you can say whatever you want, and then it gets written about, and then that’s considered ’truth’ in this cancel culture. I’ve been a dad for a long time. I have custody of all of my children, and I have custody of all my children because I’m a good father and I’m a good person. At the end of that day, that is what’s the most important thing. At the end of my life, no matter what happens, I’m gonna look my three daughters in the face, and they’re gonna know their dad was a great father.”
Following his post, Lala took to her Instagram Story, where she seemingly addressed her ex’s denials with a statement of her own.
“Keep telling yourself whatever you need to to help you sleep at night. You’re seen,” she shared.
Also, with her post, Lala included Phillipa Soo‘s song “Burn,” which speaks of someone being warned to “be careful with that one” and spoke of a man who “brought this girl into our bed.”
She also sings, “You and your words obsessed with your legacy … Your sentences border on senseless … And you are paranoid in every paragraph … How they perceive you,” and adds, “I hope that you burn.”
Vanderpump Rules season 10 premieres Wednesday, February 8, on Bravo.