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Laura Prepon, ex Ben Foster accuse each other of 'inappropriate marital conduct' in divorce battle

Laura Prepon, ex Ben Foster accuse each other of 'inappropriate marital conduct' in divorce battle

USA Today24-03-2025

Laura Prepon, ex Ben Foster accuse each other of 'inappropriate marital conduct' in divorce battle
Ben Foster and Laura Prepon are shedding light on the breakdown of their relationship amid their ongoing divorce battle.
Six months after Foster filed for divorce, the "Long Day's Journey into Night" star filed an amended complaint in the former couple's proceeding on March 18, according to a review of Davidson County Circuit Court records by USA TODAY on Sunday.
Foster, who cited "irreconcilable differences" as the reason for his breakup with Prepon, accused his estranged wife of "inappropriate marital conduct" in the complaint, according to People magazine and In Touch. In response, Prepon detailed her own allegations of misconduct against Foster in a counter complaint on March 19, court records show.
USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for Foster and Prepon for comment.
Foster and Prepon married in 2018 after the pair's long-term friendship evolved into a romance around 2015. The actors share two children, 7-year-old daughter Ella and a 5-year-old son.
Foster filed for divorce on Sept. 9, 2024, the same day the couple separated, according to court records reviewed by USA TODAY at the time. The Emmy-winning actor also asked the court to uphold their prenuptial agreement, "marital dissolution agreement and agreed parenting plan."
Read more: Ben Foster files to divorce Laura Prepon after 6 years of marriage
Laura Prepon accuses Ben Foster of 'habitual drunkenness' after Foster alleges 'inappropriate marital conduct'
In his amended complaint, Foster claims Prepon's "inappropriate marital conduct" serves as additional grounds for the couple's divorce, according to People and In Touch.
While Foster didn't specify Prepon's alleged behavior, he reportedly described her conduct as "cruel and inhuman treatment" that makes living together "unsafe and improper."
According to the outlets, Foster also requested that the court determine a joint custody schedule for the former couple and the amount of child support he will pay Prepon.
Quinta Brunson files for divorce: 'Abbott Elementary' star splits from husband Kevin Anik
Prepon denied Foster's allegations and demanded "strict proof" of her alleged misconduct in the March 19 filing, People and In Touch report.
The "That '70s Show" star also reportedly accused Foster of "cruel and inhuman treatment" during their marriage, alleging her estranged husband was "guilty of habitual drunkenness," according to the outlets.
In contrast to Foster's stance on child custody, Prepon is asking the court to designate her the "primary residential parent" as the pair are not "fit and proper parents to be awarded the joint care, custody, and control of the parties' minor children," per People and In Touch.
Contributing: KiMi Robinson, USA TODAY

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The Moral Heart of The Simpsons
The Moral Heart of The Simpsons

Atlantic

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The Moral Heart of The Simpsons

In 1992, The Simpsons was one of the most beloved sitcoms on television. Critics adored it; the ratings were climbing higher and higher; the show had entered what fans would eventually come to regard as its funniest period, roughly Seasons 3 through 8. But the animated series still scared some adults. There had never been a boy on network TV as openly irreverent as Bart Simpson, who said 'hell' and 'damn' and talked back to his teacher. Mere months after the show debuted, in December 1989, schools across the United States started banning a T-shirt declaring, 'Bart Simpson 'Underachiever': And Proud of It, Man!' James Dobson, the founder of the evangelical organization Focus on the Family, weighed in on that particular piece of merch, writing that it made the 'pervasive problem of underachievement' even worse. As quaint as Bart's antics might seem now, he and The Simpsons as a whole represented youth in revolt. 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In a People interview later that year, first lady Barbara Bush called The Simpsons 'the dumbest thing I've ever seen.' In the first case, the show's producers responded with a snarky statement: 'If our drug czar thinks he can sit down and talk with a cartoon character, he must be on something.' In the second, they decided to take a kill-'em-with-kindness approach, sending the first lady a letter written in the voice of Marge, who politely defended her family. 'Ma'am, if we're the dumbest thing you ever saw,' Marge wrote, 'Washington must be a good deal different than what they teach me at the current events group at the church.' Barbara Bush sent an apologetic reply: 'Clearly,' she wrote, 'you are setting a good example for the rest of the country.' At that point, the Bush-Bart beef was dead. Then, early in his reelection campaign, the president brought it back to life. On January 27, 1992, he spoke at the National Religious Broadcasters convention. His speech wasn't terribly memorable, except for one section. 'The next value I speak of must be forever cast in stone,' Bush said. 'I speak of decency, the moral courage to say what is right and condemn what is wrong. And we need a nation closer to The Waltons than The Simpsons —an America that rejects the incivility, the tide of incivility, and the tide of intolerance.' The Waltons was a Great Depression–set drama about a good-natured blue-collar Virginia family that aired on CBS for most of the 1970s. The smash-hit show was a temporary antidote to the tumult of the time, and Bush's speechwriter Curt Smith was a big fan. He thought that The Waltons embodied a kind of propriety that appealed to Middle America. To him, The Simpsons did not. When I interviewed him in 2022, Smith told me he felt that the sarcastic animated series looked down on the heartland. 'You had two cultures at war in this country. And I say that sadly,' he said. ' The Waltons with red America and The Simpsons with blue America.' To play up that divide, Smith added the Waltons/Simpsons comparison into Bush's address. According to Smith, his boss approved. As soon as the president said the line, it became a sound bite, which satisfied Smith. 'I felt deeply that the line was germane,' he told me. 'I thought it was true. And it would help us politically.' He turned out to be wrong about that last part. Bush's broadside pushed the creators of The Simpsons to fire back by tacking on a scene to the opening of that week's episode, a rerun. The family is gathered around the TV, which is playing footage of the president's insult. As soon as it's over, Bart perks up and says, 'Hey, we're just like the Waltons. We're praying for an end to the Depression, too.' The mainstream media also pointed out the irony of the president waxing poetic about an old TV show that took place during a terrible economy. 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The show was at its core wholesome, even if the president at the time didn't acknowledge as much. It wasn't the first time, and wouldn't be the last time, a politician who claimed that a pop-culture icon was threatening American values left out key information about his target. Just last month, after Bruce Springsteen criticized him onstage in England, President Donald Trump responded by going after the musician on social media. 'I see that Highly Overrated Bruce Springsteen goes to a Foreign Country to speak badly about President of the United States,' he posted on Truth Social. 'Never liked him, never liked his music, or his Radical Left Politics and, importantly, he's not a talented guy.' Springsteen has never made his music just for the 'radical' or the 'left'; he's piled up millions of fans by speaking directly about the everyday anxieties of small-town life. His music has reflected America, in other words. 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Trump plans to attend 'Les Misérables' at the Kennedy Center after taking over the institution
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Finished 'Dept. Q'? Netflix's New Murder Mystery 'The Survivors' Should Be Your Next Watch
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Finished 'Dept. Q'? Netflix's New Murder Mystery 'The Survivors' Should Be Your Next Watch

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