Rumer Willis Filed an Emergency Order to Stop Her Ex from Getting Overnight Visits with Their 3-Year-Old Daughter, Saying His Judgment Endangers the Child

by · Thought Catalog
@CelebCandidly / MEGA

Gossip

By Chrissy Stockton

Updated 6 minutes ago, September 2, 2026

In June a judge cleared Rumer Willis’ ex, Derek Richard Thomas, for unsupervised overnight stays with their toddler, 3-year-old Louetta. The visits were set to begin the last weekend of August but days before they were scheduled to start, Willis went back to court to stop them, telling the judge that Thomas’ lack of judgment puts their daughter at risk.

At COSF’s 4th Annual Aspen Snow Ball Gala in Aspen, Colorado, Rumer Willis takes the stage on March 21, 2026. Photo by Riccardo Savi / Getty Images.

Thomas’ attorney, Mike Kretzmer, pushed back hard, saying Willis “continues to perpetuate lie upon lie upon lie” and calling the pleading “reckless and demonstrably false.” He claims she moved to Nashville with Louetta without permission or a valid court order, further “thwarting” Thomas’ custody and visitation. Willis maintains the move was made with his permission.

Rumer Willis and Derek Richard Thomas step out together at the ESPRIT LA pop-up on Robertson Blvd. in Los Angeles in November 2022. Photo by Vivien Killilea / Getty Images.

The two have been locked in a custody fight over Louetta since July 2025. Willis had earlier claimed Thomas was so high on marijuana that he couldn’t “even watch [Louetta] for those couple of minutes without her rolling off the couch,” a claim he flatly denies. Thomas, who is set to marry Lizzie Loch in October, wrote that he “reject[s] completely and without reservation” any suggestion that he abused drugs or endangered his daughter.

Rumer Willis cradles her baby bump alongside boyfriend Derek Richard Thomas during a coffee run to Erewhon in Los Angeles in April 2023. Photo by MEGA.

Louetta is the daughter of Willis and Thomas. Willis is herself the daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore. The next hearing in the case is set for September 10.

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