“Elf” actor Faizon Love made his first appearance in a Florida courtroom Friday after being busted on an outstanding warrant.
Love, 58, wearing a red prison jumpsuit and shackled at the wrists, was brought into the Hillsborough County courtroom in a wheelchair Friday for his initial appearance.
He’s facing two contempt of court charges stemming from a child support case, according to TMZ, which reported his ex, Tiffany Lee, claims he’s $250,000 in arrears.
“Elf” actor Faizon Love was seen in a wheelchair for his first appearance in a Florida courtroom Friday. WTSP
Love is in court after being busted on an outstanding warrant. WTSP
Lee’s lawyer argued Love ignored multiple court orders and hasn’t made the court-mandated $2,500 per month child support payments in years.
The “Couple’s Retreat” star has claimed he didn’t earn a single cent in 2025 and that his highest gross income over the last five years was just $13,000, the outlet reported.
Faizon’s ex, Tiffany Lee, claims he’s $250,000 in arrears, according to a report. WTSP
His lawyers said the actor is having difficulty making ends meet — that he has no home, drives a 1999 car and has been forced to depend on friends to help cover his expenses.
“Do you have the current ability at this point in time to pay $2,500 a month in child support?” Love’s lawyer asked him during the hearing.
“Right now? No,” he admitted.
“The sentence is preventing him from working and ruining his name in Hollywood,” his attorney argued. “So, if he’s in jail, he can’t work.”
Appearing on a video call during the proceedings, Lee claimed Love “specifically told me that I wasn’t going to get a dime” and said he was going to stop working and cancel shows to deprive her of the money.
Love will be released from custody today, the judge giving him until July 1 to put a financial statement together to prove he can’t afford the payments, according to 10 Tampa Bay News.
The “Friday” actor was cuffed in Florida Tuesday, appearing haggard and stone-faced in a mugshot after his arrest.
He was originally arrested in California over two weeks ago and served 16 days in jail, according to the outlet.
Love has had several prior run-ins with law enforcement, including several arrests for assault.
In 2017, he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor for a caught-on-camera assault of a valet at the John Glenn Columbus International Airport in Ohio, for which he was fined $500 and handed a 180-day suspended jail sentence.
Last year he was accused of felony assault after allegedly hurling a credit card machine at the head of a San Diego hotel clerk after she told him the hotel couldn’t provide him with the room he had booked.
Love has appeared in dozens of movies including “The Replacements” and “Couples Retreat.”