During a Friday divorce hearing, “Yellowstone” star Kevin Costner said he might be involved in a lawsuit regarding the ongoing dispute over his exit from the Paramount Network hit, according to media reports.
“It’s a little disappointing that the No.1 show on television is not producing,” Costner said during his testimony at a Santa Barbara court. “I’ll probably go to court over it. I’m disappointed in the production.”
Costner’s “Yellowstone” future came up as part of testimony in the divorce hearing about his income, information relevant to dividing assets and what Costner will pay in child support. His estranged wife’s legal team argued that fees from “Yellowstone” should be included as part of his total income — Costner’s team argues that those fees are past income, not future.
When attorney John Rydell, who represents Costner’s estranged wife Christine Baumgartner, asked Costner if he was offered to participate in a sixth season of the show, the “Yellowstone” star responded that the answer was “complicated.”
“We did negotiate,” Costner continued, adding that he was offered $24 million to star in three additional installments covering Seasons 5, 6 and 7. Ultimately, Costner admitted there were “issues about creative” and when “[he] tried to break the log jam … they walked away.”
Despite Costner’s testimony, the veteran actor has been compensated for Season 5, which completed filming the first half of its episodes, while the second half of the season has yet to be filmed. As a result of the disputes, which center on scheduling conflicts, Costner only wanted to film Season 5B for a week.
Friday’s hearing also included testimony over a four-film Western series that he’s co-written and directing, “Horizon: An American Saga,” set around the Civil War era. Scheduling over the shooting of those films was part of what went into conflict over scheduling filming for “Yellowstone,” according to Costner.
Costner noted that he’d deferred his salary on the first two films, putting his fee back into the movies’ budgets, as well as taking a penalty for delaying filming due to “Yellowstone” scheduling.
His estranged wife Baumgartner has received a $1.5 million payment as part of a prenuptial agreement. Her side is asking for child support of $161,592 per month, while Costner’s side is offering $60,000 each month. They also asserted that Costner makes more than $1.4 million per month.
A trial is set for November on both the prenuptial agreement and Baumgartner’s request for spousal support.
The news was first reported by The Daily Mail.
