Our son is seven years old. Sabina got pregnant with him when we’d dated for only four months. I wasn’t ready for marriage, but we agreed to have the child. She wanted me to marry her before the baby arrived, and when I couldn’t, she cut me off.

But I didn’t stand aside and let her do it alone. I told my family about the pregnancy, and when she delivered, we went to her house to formally claim responsibility for our son.

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Since then, I’ve sent money to her every month. I pay for medical bills and my son’s school fees. Because he lives with her, I also cover half of her rent every year. When school is out, I bring him to spend vacations with me. I’m doing everything a father in my position can do. But all Sabina does is wake up, turn on her camera, and shoot content with our son.

She won’t look for a job, despite her engineering degree. She stays home, puts the camera on, and films silly content with my child.

I called to warn her to stop making content out of his life. She asked why, and I told her, “He’s just a child.” The next thing I knew, she was live on Facebook, telling her followers that I had warned her to stop filming with the boy. Come and see insults from her fans. They know nothing about me yet called me a deadbeat, irresponsible, and saying I had no right to demand anything since I’m “not in his life.”

I thought she would correct their misconceptions, but she didn’t.

I called her, and it turned into a fight. Without my knowledge, she was recording our conversation. Right after the argument, she went live again, playing the recording for her followers. Then she said, “I’ve always held back from telling my story, but because of his behavior, I think it’s time you all knew how he made me a single mom and he’s still trying to control my life.”

She told a one-sided story, lying through much of it, and her fans came for me all over again.

All I wanted was for her to stop creating content with my son. Now, she’s creating content about me and my son. She has a large following on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and WhatsApp. She posts these stories on her status, and some of my family members see them and call me, concerned.

I need a way to stop this nonsense. I want to take my son from her, but I’ve been told it would be legally difficult. What I need to know is this: can I use her videos to make my case stronger in court? The fact that she’s using a minor for commercial purposes, isn’t that a form of child exploitation or labor? Wouldn’t the law consider that and grant me custody?

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She calls herself a full-time content creator. That’s fine. But why is she drafting my son into something he never signed up for? She tells the world I’m a deadbeat, so I’ve warned her: if she doesn’t stop this content creation with my son, I will stop sending child support because my child is already “working,” he should be able to take care of himself.

Am I right to think this way?

—P. K

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