Kevin Costner's Shocking Child Support Revelation: Exits 'Yellowstone' Amidst Financial Struggles

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Following his departure from the television series Yellowstone, Kevin Costner has stated that he is unable to meet the monthly payment of $248,000 to his estranged wife, Christine Baumgartner, as child support.

"I anticipate a significant decrease in my earnings for 2023 compared to 2022. This is due to my lack of a contract with Yellowstone, which was my primary source of income last year," said Costner, 68, in documents filed on Wednesday, June 28 and obtained by We the following day. "The fixed 'pay or play' amount and episodic compensation that I received have now ended. Any compensation I receive from Yellowstone will now only come from my contractual participation rights, which are not predetermined."

Costner, who has portrayed patriarch John Dutton on the family drama since its premiere in 2018, further explained that a recent report from the producer of Yellowstone indicated that he was not entitled to any participation money. Costner has since disputed this claim and has not yet received any compensation from the series this year.

Paramount Network officially announced in May that Yellowstone's fifth season will be its last. The first half of this season concluded in January, while the second batch of episodes, initially scheduled for the summer, were pushed back to fall. Speculation about a rift between creator Taylor Sheridan and Costner, who reportedly wanted to leave the series, led to this news. It is still unclear how much Costner will be involved in the final episodes of Yellowstone. Baumgartner, who filed for divorce from Costner in May, claimed in recent documents that he earns an estimated $1,537,000 per month from his acting and directing jobs. She listed their monthly expenses, which have been fully covered by Costner, as over $550,000, stating that she cannot sustain their current lifestyle due to insufficient funds. This paperwork was filed after Costner took legal action to remove Baumgartner from their shared home.

In Wednesday's documents, Costner disputed his estranged wife's portrayal of his cash flow, stating that she only looked at his income from last year. He emphasized that his earnings are variable and can significantly fluctuate from year to year due to the nature of his career. Costner found her request for $248,000 per month to be astonishing and stated that he cannot afford to pay such amounts. Furthermore, he mentioned that meeting these financial obligations while covering his living and business expenses without liquidating assets is not feasible for him. Costner also mentioned that he had previously informed his estranged wife, Christine, that 2023 would be financially challenging for him if he was not working on the television show "Yellowstone." He explained that he might have to defer his salary on the Horizon film projects to a later date, which he ended up doing, and claimed that Christine had understood this.

The Horizon saga, a collaborative effort by Costner, encompasses an upcoming American epic Western film featuring Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Luke Wilson, and Thomas Haden Church. Three sequels have been approved, with the first one already in production since August 2022. In May, Costner confirmed that filming had commenced for the second installment.

In response to Baumgarner's request for $280,000 per month, Costner countered by stating that Baumgartner allegedly spends 60 percent of expenses on personal needs, such as a private trainer and plastic surgery. On Thursday, Costner offered to continue paying $51,940 per month, along with covering 100 percent of the children's health insurance, extracurricular expenses, daughter Grace's private school tuition, and Cayden's car costs.