Channing Tatum's divorce from ex-wife Jenna Dewan just took a turn.
According to TODAY via NBC News, the former couple and Step Up co-stars will testify in court during their divorce trial on April 12, a whopping six years after their separation.
Dewan reportedly claimed in a petition filed on April 9 that she is owed additional profits from Tatum’s Magic Mike film series. She argues that the franchise was built during their marriage and thus should be considered joint property.
“During the parties’ marriage, Channing, an actor and producer got his big break with the motion picture Magic Mike, which along with the underlying intellectual property, was developed and co-financed by Channing during marriage with community effort and marital funds,” reads the petition, per TODAY.
Dewan’s petition also reportedly suggests that Tatum and his business partners “created a complex web of LLCs, holding companies and partnerships” in a “calculated” effort to “dilute and conceal the value of, and licensing income therefrom, the community property share of Magic Mike.”
Elsewhere in the suit, Dewan accused Tatum of making Magic Mike-related business decisions without her consent and did not disclose other business opportunities following their divorce.
On the other hand, Tatum’s lawyers disagree with the petition, stating that he “never denied Petitioner of her share of the community assets or income.” They also called the suit a “last ditch effort” to delay their divorce proceedings, which have apparently been ongoing since 2019.
The actor’s legal counsel also stated that Tatum “continued to create and develop” the Magic Mike character post-split.
Both parties have summoned each other as witnesses. TODAY's report did not specify the amount Dewan was seeking.
The first Magic Mike film, loosely based on Tatum’s own experiences as a male stripper, was first released in 2012 and became a box office smash with $167 million earned globally against a mere $7 million budget, reported Fortune in 2023.
The second film, Magic Mike XXL, had similar success with a $123 million gross in theaters with a bumped budget of $14 million in 2015. Magic Mike's Last Dance, was released in 2023 after his split with Dewan.
A live version of the film, Magic Mike Live, opened in Las Vegas, Nevada and then overseas in London, England, and Berlin, Germany.
Tatum reportedly became engaged to Zoë Kravitz last October. Dewan is currently pregnant with her second child with fiancé Steve Kazee, per People.
