As you may recall, at the start of this month we learned that 4-time dad Jude Law finally decided to meet his daughter in person, 5 months after she was born. The meeting was brought about by Jude‘s babymama Samantha Burke who has been working towards a custody agreement for their lovechild Sophia Lee. It appears that that meeting in Miami, FL was a fruitful one because terms of the child’s custody have reportedly been agreed upon. Apparently, Jude Law has agreed to pay for the child’s “maintenance fees” and will meet with the child “twice a year”. Um … Father of the Year, anyone?
Jude Law has reportedly hashed out a custody deal with the mother of his lovechild – he will allegedly see his daughter twice a year and pay maintenance. The Brit became a father for the fourth time in September after American model Samantha Burke conceived during a brief fling with the actor while he filmed Sherlock Holmes in New York. Law met little Sophia for the first time last month during a trip to Florida and is said to have agreed a deal with Burke to visit her bi-annually and hand over regular childcare payments, according to Britain’s News of the World. The maintenance payments are believed to total $5,000 a month and were agreed along with a confidentiality clause which will prevent Burke from talking to the press. A source tells the newspaper, “Jude will visit his daughter at least twice a year, once around Christmas. His visit (to meet Sophia in February) was fleeting and seemed mainly business-like.” Law also has three kids with ex-wife Sadie Frost.
I mean … yeah. While I personally think this arrangement still totally sucks (especially for the innocent baby), I suppose it’s worth looking on the bright side here … at least baby Sophia Lee will have some contact with her father, which is far better than no contact at all. I can appreciate that Jude may not be a huge fan of babymama Samantha Burke (even tho he absolutely could’ve taken great pains to protect himself from an unwanted pregnancy — wrap it up every time, y’all), it boggles my mind how one can be so cold to an innocent baby … of one’s own flesh and blood! But, again, I’m digressing. The good news is that a custody agreement has been worked out … and it is very possible that a healthy and truly loving relationship might spring from these small seeds of contact. Let’s just hope for the best, for the baby’s sake.
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As a fourth year med student about to graduate from med school, I feel that I should say that double bagging is contraindicated as a form of contraception and safe-sex as it would result in greater likelihood of tearing the first condom. It could in fact result in increased transmission of STDs and increase the likelihood of pregnancy. Don’t mean to be overly critical here, but I don’t want people reading the blog to think that double-bagging is safe and engage in such activity, possibly acquiring an STD, etc.
Double bagging is LESS SAFE! Maybe that’s what ol’ Judie did wrong….
Not sure seeing your dad twice a year is such a good thing. Sometimes, no dad at all is better than having dad every once in a while. At least, that was the case for me. Feeling like you only matter twice a year actually makes you feel like shit.
I was sort of excited when I saw the title of this post. Once I actually read it I was pretty disappointed in him. I thought for a second that maybe he was actually going to have a relationship with his daughter. Sucky situation.
I feel sorry for this baby, her parents both suck. Her mom for thinking the baby was a cash cow and the father, who wants little to do with her.
I wish people would think before bringing children into this world.
@Landy — I don’t know why people assume the mother is to blame. Do people really assume that it’s all the woman’s fault?
Trent, luv: You do go on about how “contact with her father” is important regarding this situation. If the father is an ass, which you clearly believe, why would Sophia’s spending time w/him be a good thing? Her mother should find a male figure(s) that will have a positive & uplifting impact on her life instead. Blood doesn’t mean anything –didn’t you see “Precious”? That is a sad (extreme) reality, not a Hollywood fairy tale. A family will sell their own up the river quicker than a stranger on the street oftentimes. Many of us are blessed with family members that love us unconditionally, but many would be better off creating a family of their own from their friends who truly demonstrate their compassion & devotion– without a lawyer negotiating the conditions. Y’know like may gays end up doing when they come out, right? Are we any worse off for it? Don’t let your love of happy endings, block the path to getting there, T! Okay, thanks– I feel better –xoxo
@meh! — No, you misunderstood. As I said, the situation sucks … but something is better than nothing. I’m hopeful that something positive might come from any contact with his daughter … but it’s far from a sure thing. I’m not applauding this arrangement, I’m just trying to see some hopeful positivity in it.
i get why jude was so… hesitant to meet the baby, its a lovechild. didnt little sophia come from a one night stand?
anyways, its still some bullshit that jude law took so long to see her, but i get it, because he was more or less just a sperm donor. or at least thats how i understand things.
@Trent – I seriously question the intent of the mother. Having a child is a major life choice and to have the child of a man that you don’t know strikes me as odd. I don’t know whether or not she’s a good mother, but I do wonder if she’d have had a baby with him if he weren’t rich and famous.
I for sure think Jude Law is a creep, but as far as the circumstances, he had no say in whether or not she gave birth to this child, who he will be linked to forever. The whole situation is very sad.
@Landy — What if abortion is not an option for her? I’m absolutely pro-choice … but it goes both ways. Is having a child from a one-night stand ideal? Not always … but I would never fault just the woman in a situation like this. He is just as much to blame. Of course he has say as to whether or not she gave birth to the child … abstaining from that one-night stand was absolutely in his control.
Maybe as she gets older, he will have more contact with her? I honestly think why he put it off for so long is because he may have been paranoid that as soon as he did make contact with her, whatever the mother’s name is, would have contacted the press and made a big deal about it. From what I understand, Jude likes to keep his children and their lives out of the spotlight. So far with Sophia, that has not been the case. But maybe I’m wrong, and since he had no relationship with the mother(aside from one or two nights together) he thought he shouldn’t have to be there for sophia since it was suppose to be a one time thing. I don’t know really, it could be either or something else all together. Whether her father is there for her or not, I hope Sophia gets a stable and loving life with what she does have. :)
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Also, in my honest opinion, I think if anyone is to blame for an unplanned child it should go to both of them, instead of just one. Jude should have worn protection and the mother should have either been taking birth control or she should have taken that ‘morning after’ pill if she thought that the protection didn’t work(or if she thought they didn’t use it in the first place). But Sophia is here, and like mentioned before, I hope she grows up loved and feeling stable.
@Trent – I don’t just fault her, I fault both of them. I feel sorry for this baby because one day she’ll be old enough to understand all of this and most likely, it will hurt her.
It seems as if neither of them thought any of this out beforehand.
@Landy — Yes, I fully agree. The poor baby girl is the one to suffer for both parents irresponsible behavior :( I hope things get sorted properly for little Sophia by the time she grows up to know what is going on.
Trent, why do you act as though Jude is the ONLY one to blame for this sad situation? You’re rallying behind the mother as if she is an innocent wronged.
The woman wasn’t raped. If protection wasn’t used, it was JUST AS MUCH her responsibility as it was his. People who seriously think protection is the sole responsibility of the man make my skin crawl. Heck, even condom companies have been pushing the “if he won’t use protection say no” angle in the past few years.
My questioning of the mother’s intent does not come from the fact that she carried and gave birth. It’s been in every action she’s taken regarding it … the woman has already made quite a bit of money by selling photos and giving interviews. That’s disgusting, and makes her look like a gold digger. I also find it VERY interesting that the custody/support arrangement came with a confidentiality order keeping her from talking to the press. It speaks to her state of mind and maturity that Jude and his lawyers felt the need to get that in writing. If she had not contacted press in the first place, I have a feeling this would be an entirely different situation.
Neither of them is blameless. I’m sick of reading how she’s a saint and he’s a devil.
@Fae — “Trent, why do you act as though Jude is the ONLY one to blame for this sad situation?” I don’t. I just don’t blame Burke like everyone else does. I never understand why people, women mostly, are so easy to heap the harsh criticism on the mother in situations like this. They are both to blame and the baby is the one that suffers. Please show me where I ever even came close to hinting that Burke is “a saint”. While we cannot know for certain what her “intentions” are concerning the birth of her child, we do know what Jude’s public actions have been. Considering how loving he is towards his other children, it’s just sad the way he seems to treat his newborn baby. That has always been my position.
@anoynmous – who ever said anything about double bagging in this post? Did I miss something??
@ Trent and Landy regarding the abortion thing: Jude Law sucks for what he is doing. I fully support Samantha in this; yes abortion is an option, however I don’t think (a big IMO here, I don’t want to judge anyone) that abortion is the right thing for people who didn’t use any sort of contraception. Abortion is NOT birth control, you ARE ending a life when you do it. She felt that she was responsible enough to lay down and have sex, and so she took responsibility for her decision and didn’t make her suffer for it, that is a good thing. And I have been there (not with a rich man, with my boyfriend who is also a university student, like me) so I can comment. IMO abortion should be used only for rape victims, for a mother whose life is at risk by continuing the pregnancy, and for a baby who would be born with a horrible genetic defect and would live in pain and/or have no chance for survival. In my opinion, if you lay down and get pregnant it is then your responsibility to act in the child’s best interest, not yours. If that means giving the baby up for adoption then do it, but I have a hard time believing that abortion is the best choice for the baby. It might be a get out of jail free card for the mother (or save her figure and/or social life), but not for the child; the child doesn’t even get the chance at life if abortion happens, IMO…That being said, every situation is different and what I said is just my opinion…When I found out I was pregnant it was terrifying, and I did get the facts about abortion but in the end I knew that I had made my bed, so to speak, and so I kept my daughter. Now I couldn’t imagine life without her, I love her so much…a friend of mine had an abortion and has not been the same since…that is my opinion…but I digress, I guess the point that I’m trying to make is good for Samantha for putting her big girl panties on and taking responsibility for her actions. I bet she’s happier for it now :)
@Trent – The saint comment wasn’t regarding your posts in particular … there are many many many sites talking about this issue and the general portrayal is that she is blameless.
I completely agree that they are both to blame … which is what I was trying to say. He’s definitely not smelling like roses in this situation either. But it seems like the more recent posts here have had a feeling of Jude being the only one who’s behaved badly. My point is that they BOTH have.
Regarding women heaping criticism on the mother … maybe that has something to do with those women being able to see themselves being in the situation and making different choices? As for me, it doesn’t matter who she is. If she were a man making the same stupid decisions (when it comes to the press etc) I’d say the same things.
I’m not blaming Burke for getting pregnant. That was a mistake by BOTH of them. Deciding to carry, give birth to, and keep Sophia was her decision, and I’m not faulting her for it. I’m only saying her mistakes came in jumping into the spotlight. That was HER decision, and HER decision alone.
I’ve known alot of dads who basically had little to do with their kids while they are infants and toddlers, usually (the men i know at least) spend more time with their children once they are big enough to actually play with, without fear of hurting the child. I hope once little Sophia is alittle older, he will want to spend more time with her.
Why don’t celebrities understand ‘contraception’? Not blaming Jude or Samantha specifically, but seriously in this day and age it’s almost impossible to get pregnant by accident. Condoms, Pills, patches, sticks tons of stuff. And to those saying the baby was a ‘mistake’ you’re wrong. An accident perhaps but not a mistake. How many of YOU were planned?
Simple___
jude– put your little piggy in a damn blanket.
ALWAYS
And if you are stupid enough not to– just fraking man-up.
Birth control fails, even condoms as my daughter is proof ;) HOWEVER the thing that pisses me off the most is the twice a year visit. WTF?!
maybe twice a year wasn’t judes choice. that mom seems pretty fame/money hungry. she probs doesn’t care if jude ever sees the baby, as long as she keeps getting those checks in the mail.
i kinda feel like she planned this whole thing, and tricked him into impregnating her.
Jude, being quite the lady’s man, should get a snip job, pronto. He’s plenty of tykes.