Lita Ford’s ex husband Jim Gillette says he and the pair’s two sons James and Rocco are frightened by accusations made by the female rocker.
The couple were married for 16 years but divorced in 2011 and since the split, Ford has accused her former partner of turning their children against her.
She told the Examiner in 2011 that her kids had been coaxed by Gillette to attack her, saying they had been “brainwashed.” And in an interview with Full Metal Rock a year later, she said Gillette had taken the children out of the US and claimed she’d need the aid of a SWAT team to see them as he would “become physical” with her otherwise.
Now Gillette has broken his silence over the situation and said Ford’s “slanderous allegations” are causing concern to the two boys and repeated that he has full legal custody over the children.
He tells Metal Sludge: “Unlike Lita, I don’t believe it’s right to say bad things about a child’s parent publicly or in private. I think divorce is hard enough on kids and they certainly don’t need to be hurt or embarrassed by an irrational parent who has an agenda. That said, I suppose I could finally shed a little light on the subject without being too harsh.
“First of all and for the record, I have sole legal and physical custody of our sons. Unfortunately, it goes much further than that. As heartbreaking and unbelievable as this might sound, Lita Ford is not even allowed to see our sons by way of an agreed upon court order. This order was signed after nearly two years of litigation, during which time the courts only allowed her supervised visitation.”
He continues: “Everything is legal about the boys being with me, and all of Lita’s self-serving claims and slanderous allegations are completely and 100% ludicrous. Quite frankly, all of this is more than a little frightening for our family.
“Our sons have urged me for years to tell the world our side of the story but this is all I’m prepared to share at this point in time.”
In 2012, Ford launched the Lita Ford’s Parental-Alienation Awareness group on Facebook and earlier today posted a message aimed directly at her ex.
It read: “Wouldn’t it just be easier to allow me to see my sons, Jim? You are the world’s greatest pathological liar.”
Ford’s last album was 2012’s Living Like A Runaway and she’s currently touring across the US.
