Ayesha Howard, a former romantic partner of Anthony “Ant-Man” Edwards, is denying claims that she tried to extort the Minnesota Timberwolves player for six figures.
Edwards, 24, and Howard, 38, who welcomed their daughter Aubri Summers Howard in October 2024, have been locked in a bitter family court battle for months.
According to Us Weekly, Howard denied accusations that requesting compensation from her child’s father was part of an extortion scheme.
The social media influencer submitted a declaration to the Los Angeles Superior Court on August 7, in which she called out Edwards for allegedly accusing her of a shakedown as “downright sick.”
Previously, on Aug. 6, Edwards claimed in court documents that Howard is demanding $500,000 and a public apology on social media before she signs a custody agreement. There was reportedly a conflict over a proposed non-disparagement agreement as well.
“My request for financial assistance was not an act of coercion or malice; it was a direct response to the prolonged hardship I’ve endured,” Howard stated in her latest legal filing.
She continued, “I am a single mother who has been left to raise a child without support, while [Edwards] frames his temporary legal discomfort as injustice, all while avoiding meaningful parental responsibility.”
Howard also called the extortion allegations “offensive” while insisting that Edwards abandoning her during the entire pregnancy left her feeling “unsupported” for two years.
“Over the past two years, I’ve endured significant reputational damage, lost opportunities, and a lack of support. The efforts to distort the truth only add to the harm caused by these ongoing misrepresentations,” Howard told Us Weekly this week.
After news of their latest legal battle spread across the internet, fans weighed in on the ongoing financial battle playing out between the social media influencer and the NBA shooting guard.
“How is she not embarrassed?” one person in The Jasmine Brand’s Instagram comment section wondered about Howard. In response, another commenter asked, “How is he not embarrassed?”
“Sis, you ain’t the first and won’t be the last single mother out here trying to raise a child/children on their own,” a woman expressed to Howard.
A man on the social networking app shared his critique of Little Miss Golden by writing, “The fact she expected to be taken care of like she wasn’t a clear jump off is insane!”
In addition to being the mother of one of Edwards’ four alleged children, Howard has a 9-year-old son named Jason with Atlanta-bred rapper Dominique “Lil Baby” Jones.
Edwards also fathered a daughter with his longtime girlfriend Shannon Jackson. The pair’s baby girl, Aislynn, arrived in March 2024. Shannon previously welcomed a son with rapper Keith “Chief Keef” Cozart.
While Howard is seeking child support from Edwards, the three-time NBA All-Star and his partner traveled to China this summer. Ant-Man and Jackson visited the Great Wall of China, per Sports Illustrated.
Edwards has publicly embraced being Aislynn’s dad. In March, he uploaded a photo dump of the newborn baby that featured pictures of him in bed with his daughter and images from her one-year-old birthday party.
Jackson giving birth to Aislynn and Edwards’ reaction to the situation was a major storyline in Netflix’s “Starting 5” documentary series, which premiered on the streaming service in October 2024.
In contrast, Edwards did not request custody or visitation for Howard’s daughter, but the official paperwork to finalize the arrangement has yet to be signed.
Edwards initially petitioned a Georgia court to secure a genetic test to establish the parentage of Aubri before eventually acknowledging he only needed to settle the child support dispute with Howard.
In March 2025, Howard declared, “I said he started pursuing me, not having relations, and my point still stands, he did all of the choosing! How can I trap a man that came and got me? If anything, I was trapped. He’s the one with all of the hidden kids and agendas!”
Edwards allegedly has two additional children. A woman named Daja is said to be the mother of his daughter Aris (born September 2023). The first overall pick of the 2020 NBA draft purportedly impregnated a woman named Alley D, too. Alley D birthed a son, Amir, in October 2023.
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