Comedian Faizon Love is in a Tampa, Florida jail awaiting a bond hearing. The Cuban-born actor, 58, is charged with 2 counts of contempt of court related to child support payments.
The Los Angeles-based “Elf” star was arrested Tuesday night and is scheduled to appear in court Friday, June 19, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
Court records in Florida show a paternity suit filed against Love by Tiffany Lee, the mother of his child. Legal documents show Lee reopened a declaration-of-paternity case on June 11 involving Love. He faced multiple motions for contempt and threats to suspend his driver’s license over child support debts.
The actor told a family court judge earlier this year that he could not come up with the $250,000 he allegedly Lee, according to TMZ.
He claimed he hasn’t worked in several years and that his highest gross income over the last five years was $13,000.
A judge ordered Love to “serve a 90-day sentence” for contempt after the actor failed to appear in court in April and failed to surrender to jail in May.
His lawyer said he missed the April court date because he suffered a medical emergency.
News of Love’s arrest swept the Internet on Tuesday. He is beloved for his roles in the films Friday, Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood, B.A.P.S., Elf and Couples Retreat. He voiced Sean “Sweet” Johnson in the action-adventure game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. He also played Wendell Wilcox on the sitcom television series The Parent ‘Hood.
This is not Love’s first arrest. Back in 2017, he was arrested for allegedly attacking a valet at the Columbus, Ohio airport. Love received a suspended sentence of 180 days for that incident, according to TMZ.
In February 2025, Love was accused of attacking a female hotel clerk with a credit card machine after she told him she couldn’t give him the room he booked through a third party. He pleaded not guilty in that case.