David Justice Denies Abusing Halle Berry, Thumbs an Ex-Boyfriend ‘WS’

David Justice and Halle Berry in 1996 (Getty Images)

In the days since Halle Berry confirmed her intentions to divorce Olivier Martinez, numerous stories (including one published here) have rehashed the troubled romantic history of Berry, a former pageant queen and history-making Academy Award winner. With them, old rumors have swirled up and, in their wake, Berry’s first husband David Justice has taken to Twitter to clear his name.

In 1996, Berry told People that an ex-boyfriend, whom she has never named, once hit her so hard that it punctured her eardrum and she lost 80 percent of hearing in her left ear. Justice, to whom Berry was married from 1993 to 1997, says it was absolutely not him.

Justice didn’t stop there, but claimed the boyfriend who did hit Berry’s initials are “WS.” (He’s since deleted the tweets, but here is a screenshot of one.

Berry has said that the abuse happened while she was filming 1991’s The Last Boy Scout. During that time, she was linked to Wesley Snipes. (Yahoo has contacted Snipes’s representation for comment.)

(Justice has left a retweet of someone else specifically naming Wesley Snipes on his timeline.)

Berry claims she left her abusive relationship “so fast there were skid marks” and, shortly after, she met David Justice, at the time an outfielder for the Atlanta Braves. However, Justice says their relationship was hardly wine and roses.

Speaking with Entertainment Tonight, Justice explained why he was speaking out now: “Having three kids, [ages] 15, 13 and 11, the careless reporting of me being the one who caused her hearing loss is unacceptable. I just felt that if I didn’t say anything about this particular thing, my kids’ friends might read it and assume that it was true. I’m in the community coaching baseball, football and basketball, and I can’t have that.”

Berry’s other ex-husband, Eric Benét, also tweeted in support of Justice.

In 2007, 10 years after their divorce, Berry told Parade magazine that she had attempted suicide after their marriage ended.

Justice has previously spoken about their breakup, saying that Berry had been too hurt by previous relationships. “She’d get mad when I watched ESPN,” Justice told People. “And every time she saw a picture of me with a woman, any woman who might have been standing by my side, she thought I was cheating. She carried a lot of baggage from her previous relationships. She was always suspicious. I’ve never known a girl who could throw a tantrum like she does.”

As for Berry’s split from Martinez, a source previously told Yahoo that their relationship “just ran its course.”

Halle Berry photographed in Los Angeles after filing for divorce (Splash News)

The couple’s divorce petition lists their separation date as October 26 and the couple has vowed to keep things as amicable as possible, so as not to affect their 2-year-old son Maceo.