Joe Jonas has broken his silence on Sophie Turner’s lawsuit against him, branding it “misleading”.
The Jonas Brothers star, 34, filed for divorce from the Game of Thrones actress, 27, earlier this month – after four years of marriage.
Sophie has since filed a lawsuit against Joe at the US District Court in New York, petitioning for the return of their two daughters Willa, 3, and DJ, 1, to her native England.
In the court filing, the actress alleged that Joe won’t return their children’s passports.
In response to the suit, a rep for the singer told E! News: “This is an unfortunate legal disagreement about a marriage that is sadly ending.
“When language like ‘abduction’ is used, it is misleading at best, and a serious abuse of the legal system at worst.”
Sophie’s lawsuit doesn’t explicitly accuse Joe of abduction, but states the court has jurisdiction under the International Child Abduction Remedies Act.
Joe’s rep continued: “The children were not abducted. After being in Joe’s care for the past three months at the agreement of both parties, the children are currently with their mother.
“Sophie is making this claim only to move the divorce proceedings to the UK and to remove the children from the U.S. permanently.”
“Joe has already disavowed any and all statements purportedly made on his behalf that were disparaging of Sophie. They were made without his approval and are not consistent with his views.
“His wish is that Sophie reconsider her harsh legal position and move forward in a more constructive and private manner. His only concern is the well-being of his children.”
Joe has also disputed Sophie’s claim that their marriage ended “suddenly”, and that she found out he had filed for divorce through the media.
“After multiple conversations with Sophie, Joe initiated divorce proceedings in Florida, as Florida is the appropriate jurisdiction for the case,” his rep said. “Sophie was aware that Joe was going to file for divorce.”
His rep claimed Joe had a “cordial” meeting with Sophie on September 17 in New York, after she arrived in the city to be with their kids after filming overseas.
Their statement continued: “They have been with her since that meeting. Joe’s impression of the meeting was that they had reached an understanding that they would work together towards an amicable co-parenting setup.”
But the next day, Sophie said she wanted to bring their children back to England with her.
“Thereafter, she demanded via this filing that Joe hand over the children’s passports so that she could take them out of the country immediately,” his rep said.
However, Joe’s rep explained that he would have been violating a Florida Court order not to relocate their kids amid divorce proceedings.
Finally, Joe’s team insisted he wants “shared parenting” with the kids, and is “okay” with their daughters being raised in the US and UK.
The former couple confirmed their split in a joint statement shared to Instagram earlier this month.
They wrote: “After four wonderful years of marriage we have mutually decided to amicably end our marriage.”
“There are many speculative narratives as to why but, truly this is a united decision and we sincerely hope that everyone can respect our wishes for privacy for us and our children.”
Joe filed for divorce from Sophie in Miami Dade County on September 5th, stating that their marriage was “irretrievably broken”.
Joe and Sophie famously tied the knot in Las Vegas following the Billboard Music Awards in May 2019.
One month later, the couple hosted a second ceremony at Château de Tourreau in Sarrians, France.
