Ex-wife held in contempt for posting on TikTok about her ex-husband

Ex-husband sought to have his ex-wife held in contempt for violating an order that the divorce court had entered. In 2022, the court had ordered the ex-wife to take down social media posts that could make the ex-husband identifiable.

The ex-husband alleged that the ex-wife continued to post content on her TikTok account which made him identifiable as her ex-husband. Ex-wife argued that she did not name the ex-husband directly and that her social media was part of her work as a trauma therapist. But the family court found that the ex-wife’s posts violated the previous order because they made the ex-husband identifiable, and also noted that the children could be heard in the background of some videos. As a result, the court held the ex-wife in contempt and ordered her to pay $1,800 in the ex-husband’s attorney fees.

Ex-wife appealed the contempt ruling, arguing that ex-husband did not present enough evidence to support his claim, and that she had not violated the order. She also disputed the attorney fees. On appeal, the court affirmed the contempt finding, agreeing that her actions violated the order, but vacated the award of attorney fees due to insufficient evidence of the amount.

Three reasons why this case matters:

• It illustrates the legal consequences of violating court orders in family law cases.
• It emphasizes the importance of clarity in social media use during ongoing family disputes.
• It highlights the need for clear evidence when courts are asked to impose financial sanctions such as attorney fees.

Kimmel v. Kimmel, 2024 WL 4521373 (Ct.App.Ky., October 18, 2024)