Actor Faizon Love, who is most well-known for portraying the Gimble’s store manager in the hit Christmas classic Elf, made his first court appearance in Florida after being arrested on an outstanding warrant. Love, 58, sported a red prison jumpsuit and was shackled at the wrists as he was brought into the Hillsborough County courtroom in a wheelchair for his initial appearance.
The actor is currently facing two contempt of court charges he incurred from a child support case. Reports state that Love’s ex, Tiffany Lee, claims that he owes $250,000 in arrears. Lee’s legal representation says that the Couple’s Retreat star has claimed that he didn’t earn any money in 2025 and that his highest-grossing income over the last five years was only $13,000.
Attorneys representing Love say that the actor has fallen on difficult financial times, claiming that he currently has no home, drives a car manufactured in 1999, and has been forced to lean on his friends in order to pay for his expenses. “Do you have the current ability at this point in time to pay $2,500 a month in child support?” Love’s lawyer went on to ask him during the hearing.
“Right now? No,” he said, according to a report from the New York Post. “The sentence is preventing him from working and ruining his name in Hollywood,” his attorney told the court. “So, if he’s in jail, he can’t work.” Lee, who made an appearance at the hearing via video call, claimed the actor “specifically told me that I wasn’t going to get a dime” and then told her he was going to stop working and cancel shows in order to keep her from receiving financial support.
Love is set to be released from police custody on June 19, 2026. The judge presiding over the case is giving the Friday actor until July 1 to present a financial statement that can prove he cannot afford to make the child support payments. Love was taken into custody in Florida on June 16, 2026, looking worn and stone-faced in the mugshot that followed his arrest.
The actor was originally arrested in California two weeks ago and served a total of 16 days behind bars. His attorney, Glen R. Lansky, spoke with ABC News on June 18, 2026, saying, “To my knowledge, he was picked up in Riverside County, California and transported some days later to Hillsborough County on orders of contempt from the Honorable Judge Mark Kiser.”
The New York Post then reached out to Lansky after the hearing concluded on Friday for a comment on the situation. “We are very pleased with the result and I have taken over representation on all outstanding matters related to his case and will be filing a supplemental petition to modify child support,” the attorney told the outlet.
"*" indicates required fields
This isn’t Love’s first brush with the law. Back in 2017, Love pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor assault charge from an altercation he got into with a valet at John Glenn Columbus International Airport located in the state of Ohio. According to Fox News, the actor was ultimately fined $500 and received a suspended jail sentence of 180 days.
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video