Christina Ricci Has Been Granted A Restraining Order Against Her Estranged Husband

The only Christina Ricci news I want in my life are breaking stories about possible reboots of 200 Cigarettes or Now and Then (I’ll also take shit about Casper, because why not). I’ll tell you what I’m not psyched about, and that’s the sad news that Christina Ricci was finally granted a restraining order against her estranged husband, due to said husband allegedly getting violent with her. Oh, and the addition of photographs of bruises to support her side of things. But, here we are.

Earlier last summer, we learned that Christina had filed for divorce from her husband of seven years, film producer and grip James Heerdegen. A week before Christina filed for divorce, she was granted an emergency protective order. This was granted after LAPD officers were called to her home in June. No one was arrested, but the situation allegedly involved James spitting on Christina. There are also more allegations of abuse.

People reports that Christina outlined her alleged relationship with James in the filing of her restraining order, and it’s like a Lifetime movie crossed with a Dateline episode, directed by David Fincher. She says that the alleged abuse began when she found out she was pregnant in October 2013 (Christina has a 6-year-old son named Freddie with James).

“I began to feel extremely isolated,” Ricci wrote of the alleged subsequent abuse, describing a family vacation in New Zealand where Heerdegen “said something that made me think” he “could kill me.”

“He said the only way he could feel sorry for me is if I were dismembered into small pieces,” wrote Ricci in the declaration. “That night I hid all the knives in the cabin where we were staying. I feared for my life and the life of our son. I slept in a separate bedroom with Freddie, and I locked the door.”

Things got worse once the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States, and Christina was stuck isolating with James. She claims that James knew she wanted a divorce, and so he was “focused solely on punishing and terrorizing me 24 hours a day,” and that she was afraid to sleep at night. On June 2nd, James allegedly chased her through the house while she tried to dial 9-1-1, then allegedly dragged her outside by her wrists and threw her in their fire pit. TMZ says that she provided pictures of her injuries.

Later that month, James allegedly followed Christina around the house all morning, allegedly yelling at her, spitting on her, and throwing coffee on her. That’s when she was granted the emergency protective order. Christina also claims she’s afraid James will abduct their son, based on his threats to do so. In Christina’s divorce filing, she requested sole legal and physical custody of her son.

Christina’s current restraining order states that James must stay 100 yards away from Christina, have zero visitation with Freddie, and no contact with the family dog. TMZ says that while James has technically moved his stuff out of her house, she wants a solid guarantee he won’t try to come back to their home. So that would be why Christina has also asked a judge to grant a “move out order.” Also, she’s afraid James is going to play dirty and release a bunch of pictures, text messages, and private audio with the sole purpose of “humiliating her” or extorting her, so she has also asked a judge to make him hand everything over to her lawyers.

As for James’ side of things, his lawyer tells TMZ that he is innocent, and it’s Christina who is both messy and a liar.

Heerdegen’s attorney, Larry Bakman, tells TMZ they will file for their own restraining order against Christina “detailing her abusive conduct fueled by alcohol and substance abuse. His papers will also include documentation that Ms. Ricci advised law enforcement in December 2019 that there had been no prior incidents of domestic violence between the couple, thereby calling into question her credibility.”

He also says his client “unequivocally denies all allegations of abuse made by Ms. Ricci as having occurred in 2020.”

It might seem strange that the family dog was pulled into the restraining order, but that’s because the dog was involved. Christina accuses James of tying the dog’s leash to the leg of a coffee table when he would come to visit his son. As if the judge needed any more evidence that James needs to stay away. Tying up a dog to a coffee table? How is a dog supposed to snuggle at your feet like that? That’s a sign of evil.

Pic: Wenn.com/FayesVision