Jude Law was on Letterman last night to promote Sherlock Holmes. Throughout his meager publicity trail for the film, no journalist has been asking Jude any questions about the Samantha Burke/baby-daddy situation. It’s my understanding that the “no questions about my fourth child” rule is something established before the interview, probably by Jude’s publicist to whatever media outlet. So it’s interesting that David Letterman is the one to come the closest to asking about it (video here). When David and Jude were talking about holiday plans, David asked how many children Jude had, and Jude responded “three”. Well… he has three kids with Sadie Frost, and one with Samantha. Ugh.
Jude Law is quite the super-sleuth when it comes to helping solve mysteries as Dr. John Watson in the upcoming Sherlock Holmes film—but when it comes to playing the role of doting dad, however, Jude can’t seem to remember his lines.
Speaking with David Letterman Thursday, Law told Letterman he had a fun beach vacation planned for his children this holiday season.
When Letterman asked him how many kids he has, Law responded, “Three.”
Law does have three children with his former wife, Sadie Frost, but — Oops! — there’s a fourth he forgot to mention: baby Sophia, who was born September 22 to Law’s one-time fling, model Samantha Burke.
Hopefully, he remembers to keep those checks coming. Sherlock Holmes opens in theaters Christmas Day.
[From Radar]
Here’s the thing – I don’t blame Jude for not wanting to talk about the Burke situation, or to force journalists to not ask any questions, or even to try to distance himself from the baby-mama, Samantha, who seems a little crazy. But on the off chance Jude does get asked about it, I would expect him to at least admit that there is a fourth child in the mix. It’s just an a-hole move to act like the baby doesn’t exist. It’s not the baby’s fault that mama is a crazy and daddy can’t keep it zipped.
Jude Law at last night’s ‘Sherlock Holmes’ premiere in New York.
Considering the baby came from a 1 or 2 night stand who’s mother probably thinks the baby is her nothing but a paycheck, it’s not surprising he forgot. I don’t think Jude even met the baby.
It would seem he’s too busy with Sienna Miller to think much about Sophia. I guess that would be his true colours. Make me feel sorry for all the children and not just the little girl because it sure says something about his priorities 🙁
it’s also not the daddy’s fault that his one night cum dumpster decided to poke some holes in condoms and cash out. he is paying for the baby to be raised, i think that is where his responsibility ends in this case.
Jude has been seen several times in the last few weeks playing with his children, so yes he is paying much attention to them. He’s just not interested in some sluts offspring.
Year by year, Jude’s hotness has slipped away until we arrive at this point where he’s a scum-sucking troll.
A human being, no matter how promiscuous, is never a “cum dumpster.”
You have no knowledge about her poking holes in condoms–that comment is just blatant sexism. All we know about the mother is that she engaged in consensual intercourse with Jude Law; thus, they share the responsibility for the creation and care of this child.
The fact that he chooses to treat his daughter as a financial obligation rather than a human being with emotional needs to be met by her father reflects poorly on him.
I feel badly for that baby. It will grow up knowing that dad not only doesn’t care about or visit it, but he’s also denying it’s existence. Very sad.
Sure, and she’s the only baby in the world who doesn’t have a great, deep relationship with her daddy. The only one ever.
It’s not the most admirable thing about him, but I’m over the game of condemning anyone who isn’t absolutely perfect. Celebrities are people too.
I just can’t seem to work up a foaming-mouth ire over this one, sorry.
I feel sorry for the baby. She didn’t ask to be involved with this situation, it’s the idiot parents. I see similar situations everyday and it’s heartbreaking to hear children wish their parents would love them. I want to shake those irresponsible morons until their teeth rattle.
@Annabelle – Unfortunately knowing that dad not only doesn’t care about or visit and is also denying it’s [sic] existence sums up about 20% of single mother families that I know. I am sure given the choice, many would have taken money that was owed as a welcome addition to the rest of the attitude that didn’t change anyway.
embee, i don’t care how promiscuous someone is but if they’re having unprotected sex they should face the consequences…it’s her right to bring a child into the world from a drunken one night stand, but the way she is doing it definitely paints as as money hungry, shameless low class …..person? if she decides to cash out by having a one night stand baby from a rich guy that’s her right, but why should she be respected for that or expect anything besides money from the father? as far as i’m aware she never asked his opinion on whether he wanted this kid, she just came to the media crying for attention (and money).
i really feel that this is one of the situations when the absentee father shouldn’t be blamed because the actions of mother make him look like a nice guy by comparison.
Ugh. One night stand or not, HE IS THE FATHER!!
He needs to take responsibility for his daughter — and not just financial. He is being a dead beat dad because he’s not in her life and doesn’t care to be in the future. It’s sad that he’s abandoning this child because of the way she came into the world. The baby had no control over that!
I don’t blame him for not wanting anything to do with Ms. Burke but actually sitting on national television and flat out ignoring the girl? That’s plain douchy. Most idiots would probably have spend a little time thinking about this baby whether the mother is annoying or not. It’s seems he hasn’t. Nice.
But why should the child pay the consequences? Just because having an absent parent is common doesn’t mean it’s right.
I am so on the fence about this one. While he should have wrapped it up, Samantha saw an opportunity and grabbed it. He hardly knows the mother, so how is he supposed to treat the baby at this stage.
I can sort of understand why he wouldn’t speak of this child in the same manner as the children he loves and raises. Maybe as time goes on, he’ll get to know the other child. In the meantime, Samantha can thank herself when she collects her monthly check.
If a man doesn’t want kids, he should get a vasectomy. Otherwise, he DOES have responsibilities to the child, regardless of how it was conceived. Only a pig would think otherwise.
“I can sort of understand why he wouldn’t speak of this child in the same manner as the children he loves and raises.”
This is sick. Love and raise ALL your kids or keep it in your pants or do the world a favor, Jude and have it snipped. Don’t need any more men like him in the world!!!
one night stand=two people that don’t care about each other besides getting off and parting ways. if a woman chooses to have one that’s her right, but i think it’s “slightly” delusional to expect a great father and family to come out of that? she is lucky she is getting paid. if you want to be promiscuous and sleep with people you just met, you should be prepared to face the possible consequences and don’t blame anyone but yourself if you decide to be irresponsible and not use protection. there’s some good and working contraception out there, pills+condoms combined have a near 0% failure rate and i really have hard time believing this pregnancy was an accident, again, based on the way she pimped her pregnancy and now her newborn baby to the media. she just wants money and attention.
and yes it’s not the babys fault but at least the one night stand daddy is able to pay…as opposed to being some random bar person the mom would never see again. she is the one using baby as a money making prop, i don’t think it’s any better than being an absentee father..
Film2TV, oh the misogyny in your comment! She’s a slut because she slept with him once? Then I suppose that makes all of us who’ve slept with men once, twice or more times sluts.
Stop the girl-on-girl hate. It’s so detrimental to our gender.
did they ever say anything about a paternity test? maybe he’s not sure if it’s his yet or something?
Okay, Morons, I’m a pig. I think it’s natural that a woman has total control over whether or not a baby is born, because it is gestated within her body. BUT no matter what she chooses, she isn’t obligated to consult with or even inform the father, and that I think is wrong. I don’t think it’s reasonable to say ‘he got a chance to decide when they had sex in the first place’ because that part took two people; she was there too. So in a case where a woman decides to have a baby, doesn’t even bother to inform the father, clearly does not care about his input… I do think his responsibility is purely financial.
Eddie Murphey has had little or no contact w/ daughter w/ Mel B and that child is 2 or 3
ligea – I wrote nothing about respecting the mother so I don’t understand why you are asking me for a rationale to respect her. As for questioning her “…person?”-hood, there is no call for that. She is a person, and no less so for having sex with someone who is better known and more wealthy than she, irrespective of her motivation.
Why should Jude be expected to contribute to the raising of the child? Because he fathered her. He gets out of that obligation legally because courts can only force him to pay; he does not escape the moral obligation.
Pregnancy and procreation are the natural consequences of sex, and parenting is the related responsibility to procreation. Jude fails.
I guess that makes me an oinker, too.
I wonder how many of his 3 UK born kids were planned or how many came from a night of fun? I am disgusted with him for being on the east coast for months and not making any effort to see his Florida born child.
Do we even know that Burke *wants* Law in the baby’s life? If I were her I would be thanking my lucky stars if he was happy to leave me be alone with my baby. He is the one with all the money and power and if he and the babies siblings decided they were in love with that child and wanted it around, then she would get to see her baby a whole lot less. And the child (as it grows) would get brilliant trips and presents and guess who would quickly become the preferred parent.
Maybe they have an arrangement that we don’t know about.
I think Letterman should have respected Judes wishes and not asked the question, considering his own sordid past. Jude should have countered with the question about how many employees did he sleep with altogether?
“if you want to be promiscuous and sleep with people you just met, you should be prepared to face the possible consequences and don’t blame anyone but yourself if you decide to be irresponsible and not use protection.”
Well, the same thing goes for Jude. It’s a bit sexist to say these rules apply only to women. If Jude Law hooks up with girls like this without using protection, he too should be prepared to face the possible consequences.
But I think that is beside the point. This is not about who’s wrong or right, or who’s a slut and who should have kept it in his pants. It’s about a child, Jude Law’s child, who really didn’t ask for this situation. For him to turn his back on his kid says a lot about his character.
And the fact that many kids grow up without a father does not excuse him! My dad was never around and I turned out pretty good, but that doesn’t make it okay.
Not cool, Jude. Not cool.
Now watch, years from now if his child with Samantha becomes famous or the freaking first woman President, Jude will try to claim her.
He should have said four and just not elaborate on it any further. But to automatically flat out not claim her is just Jude being a cad.
i don’t know what disgusts me more, his blatant disregard for his child or the fact that there are people who think that the circumstances of the baby’s conception somehow negate his duty as a father.
@Princess Pea, I agree 100%.
I can’t believe all the sexist comments on this page. Some “slut’s child”?”she’s lucky she’s getting paid”?I totally agree with comment # 30.
Regardless of whether or not Jude Law’s responsibility is purely financial or not, I think the situation was just handled poorly from the start.
I can’t help but think that Letterman’s question was a touch incendiary, as Letterman most likely knew how many children the doucheknocker had.
The bottom line is that two irresponsible and selfish people got together and created an innocent child who will no doubt bear the brunt of the poor consequences of her parents’ actions.
So sad.
@Mila – I totally agree! I’m so disgusted by the sexist comments, I can’t believe it. And the fact that some, if not all, of them are coming out of other women’s mouths?!!
Those commenters are so quick to heap the majority of blame on the woman and excuse the man. It’s blatant stupidity and sexism. I hope to god they’re not parents themselves and passing this deluded way of “thinking” on to their own kids.
This man needs to take responsibility for the child he helped create. There is NO excusing him.
I’m with Princess Pea. Call me whatever you will. You cna see he is a devoted father, i do believe in time he may enter Sophia’s life. But at this point he doesn’t want to encounter (which would likely only encourage) Samantha.
He only has a financial obligation. Would we all feel better if he were in the child;s life, but i think his 3 children thing was a slip up since he’s never met this other child.
Go Jude.
OBVIOUS AND PRINCESS PEA
I agree with both of you, I think in time he will see his daughter but Miss Burke has made a lot of noise and tried too much for attention that he kept away, when things settle down he will make some effort to see his daughter, he has always been a very good father to his three children. Miss Burke wanted the limelight, if she had gone about it in the right way things would have been different. Both Jude and Miss Burke are single, I honesty don’t know what all the fuss is about.
“She isn’t obligated to consult with or even inform the father, and that I think is wrong.”
So a man should be able to force an abortion???? I don’t think so. Get a vasectomy! That’s his say.
“Now watch, years from now if his child with Samantha becomes famous or the freaking first woman President, Jude will try to claim her.”
Ew, he probably would – like Halle Berry’s father did.
But surely there a difference between not wanting to have anything to do with Ms. Burke – something I totally understand – and not even acknowledging the child? The little girl is blameless for this; yet she’s the one paying the price. I feel quite sorry for her. It must really also be a strange thing for the other children. What a way to teach your children about being responsible for your actions Jude!
@ Morons: Is it also normal for you to think that a woman who has had an abortion should have a hysterectomy and never have kids? Because, you know… that’s exactly what you just said about a man. I just think this is an issue filled with grey areas.
I absolutely do NOT believe, whatsoever, that a man should be able to force an abortion, EVER. But, as I have now said twice, I do believe he should not be obligated to offer anything more than financial support in a case such as this.
Mountain out of a molehill???
Maybe he wasn’t expecting the question and answered without thinking. I’ve seen some interviewees get their spouse’s name wrong sometimes. If he did realise his mistake, he’d hardly go and correct himself and open that can of worms would he?
@princess pea: agreed. Jude’s only responsibility is financial for THE BABY only (assuming it’s his kid). He’s not responsible for setting the baby’s mom up with a mansion and a Lexus.
From what I understand (and this is from Jude’s lawyers in the States) this encounter was not technically a one-night stand, it was more like “up against the wall” for about five minutes. In fact, Jude did not even remember the woman’s name when she informed him that she was pregnant. There has been a DNA test and Jude is definitely the father. However, I agree with Princess Pea, his only obligation to this child is a support check. He is not compelled to feel anything like love for her and I don’t see how he could. This woman obviously trapped him and she got exactly what she wanted. She has sold her story to ragmags and made loads of money off that kid. The kid is a gold mine for her and I can’t see how she can expect much other than a check from Jude. She acted like a slut and now she has to decide how to tell her daughter when the girl grows up.
Maybe thing will change, maybe not, but, for now, I totally understand why Jude says he has three kids and not four.
@ princess pea: actually, hysterectomy is not the logical equivalent.
Morons was saying his options were to (a) not have sex with someone you don’t want to have kids with; (b) accept the parenting responsibility that comes with unintended pregnancy; or (c) take charge of birth control via vasectomy. You are suggesting that the mother have an hysterectomy as punishment for having an abortion. Prevention vs. punishment. Different premise entirely.
I don’t understand why you feel that he can abrogate his responsibility to raise the child when what happened here (a pregnancy and child)was the natural consequence of his voluntary actions (sex).
If he can decide, after the sex, that he doesn’t want the child, then we are saying that he is allowed to cause someone else to bear his responsibilitles, based solely on his lack of desire.
@ Embee – The problem here is that I’m 100% pro-choice. So the way I see it, the mother still has the option, after having sex, to terminate that pregnancy and remove the responsibility entirely from her life. Even if the father of that child desperately wants it. And I don’t dispute that right. To use your wording: If SHE can decide, after the sex, that SHE doesn’t want the child, based solely on HER lack of desire, he’s shit out of luck.
You’re right that I should have said “a woman who could have an abortion…” because that would be preventative.
Jude Law took the chance of having a child the second he decided to sleep with the child’s mother. Condom or no condom, it is still a risk. The child did not get to choose her parents nor her situation. It took both of the “sluts” to conceive this child, both are at fault. However, the child deserves better than wondering why her father will have something to do with her siblings but not her. It will take years of therapy to overcome that specific issue and the many more she will incur due to her father’s neglect. I don’t understand how he could look at himself in the mirror knowing what emotional scares he is leaving upon a child that did not ask to be brought into this world.
Furthermore, comparing his ability to love the child with his ability to love the mother is ludicrous. People, no matter the gender, have exactly the same emotions: happiness, sadness, anger, frustration, etc. Some women, not all, are more inclined to express these emotions but both genders can feel the same intensity. Pain is still pain, love is still love, hatred is still hatred. Could you imagine someone saying a woman is incapable of loving her child because she does not love its father?
Additionally, anyone who thinks this woman trapped him with a one-night stand should return to junior high biology or start buying lottery tickets. The window of opportunity to conceive is an extremely short period per month. She is either both cunning and telepathic in knowing she would MEET and CONCEIVE a child with Jude Law during that window of opportunity or she has the “luck” of a leprechaun. BTW, the child support will not be as much as most people think. It is calculated by a percentage of total income and it decreases per child ever time an another child is born. It’s simple logic to understand a person would eventually not be able to take care of his/herself if 100% of his/her income was going towards child support. Therefore, there is a limit to the percentage of total income that can go towards child support.
@Essie – “She acted like a slut and now has to decide what to tell her daughter when she grows up”?
“This woman obviously trapped him..”
Um…so she’s a slut and Jude’s the victim?
Do you even realize how mosgynistic your comment is? (Sadly, you’re not alone-there seem to be a number of commenters here who are quick to villify the woman and defend the precious penis/man). You’re all like pre-programmed sheep.
How is it that so many people can honestly believe their own bullshit to the point that they insist on viewing women as second to men?
By all reports I read, she spent several DAYS with him in his hotel room. Even if it was only “5 minutes up against the wall” as long as he was there too, the child is just as much HIS responsibility as it is hers. Please stop with the complete speculation and sexist rhetoric, and open your eyes.
@ ligeia: Very well said.
People often say, a woman becomes a mother the moment she learns she is pregnant, but a man becomes a father when he sees his baby, ergo, in Jude Law’s mind, he isn’t really a father at all, once he does contact the baby and holds her, it might be harder to deny her
What a low-class selfish creep.
The soul corrosion is showing on his face, Dorian Gray-style.
This guy is a first class pig. Now his daughter’s gonna know that he knows about her and denied her.
Yo! Douchbag!!! If you don’t want to make babies then don’t do the things that make them!!!
This poor kid. What a creep!
Former tennisstar Boris Becker also had a daughter due to an ‘up the wall’-encounter, in a broom’s closet in a restaurant. NEVERTHELESS, he eventually stood up for the daugther born out of this adventure, because her disturbed mother was pimping the poor girl in a big way. He even took the woman to court for parenting rights. He faced up and was a man about it. And Becker was a notorious player as well. Same goes for Mick Jagger, who fathered a child with a Brazilian model, which resulted in the end of his marriage to Jerry Hall. But he went and visited his son with the woman, is a father for the little boy. In the early seventies he also fathered a child out of wedlock with a woman he never had a serious relationship with. That was his first child in fact. He was and is a father for her also. It CAN be done and should be done. I very much agree with every commenter on here who says he should man up; that this is NOT the baby’s fault.
The mother can be whatever she is, but he is his own man. I simply cannot understand or grasp the fact that he could go about his life, ignoring the fact that somewhere in this world his daugher, which he doesn’t know, is walking the earth. What about your conscience? Or better said; your heart, your soul? Are they silent in his case? It’s NOT about the sex, it’s not about the mother. It’s about another human being who should be a part of you. Maybe I was mistaken when I thought that we weren’t living in the dark ages anymore. It’s not old school Hollywood anymore either, like Clark Gable’s ‘secret daugther’, which he never admitted to, but DID take care of.
Come on Jude, you should TRY harder, be a REAL British gentleman. But maybe, just maybe, it’s too much to ask of someone who keeps returning to Ms Miller, instead of being an emotional grown man and moving on. Although, he never was a saint, Law and Frost were part of a really swínging gang in London back in the days I’ve read. I don’t see him as a very spiritual human being…
Sad, because I used to love him as an actor. I just can’t see him in the same light anymore.
“Yo! Douchbag!!! If you don’t want to make babies then don’t do the things that make them!!!”
Yo, whore!!! If you want a father for your baby, don’t spread your legs for someone you’re not in a committed relationship with.
I totally agree with Princess Pea.
Wow, there are some jacked up comments on this.
Regardless of the circumstances regarding the child’s conception, which any junior high biology class will tell you takes two people, Jude is a douche for flatout not claiming a child that is his. This isn’t about the baby’s mother- I honestly don’t see what calling her names or questioning her character is going to accomplish, and I could not give less of a crap what, if any, her motives were and are.
The bottom line is that Jude helped create a life and needs to man up, be a responsible human being, and at least acknowledge his child rather than just cutting a check each month. The baby didn’t ask to be brought into this world, and it’s both sad and ignorant to punish her for a situation she has no control over.
No point in sugarcoating it: he’s a deadbeat dad.
Eh. This is blown out of proportion. If you actually watch the clip, he was asked about what he was going to do for the holidays. He responded that he was spending it with his ex wife and kids and that he usually likes to take his kids out and stuff. When he said “three” he probably meant the kids he would be spending the holidays with.
What was he supposed to say? “Well, I have three that I’ll be spending the holidays with, and one new one” That would have opened up an unnecessary can of worms…
Garacie,
It takes two to make a baby. That’s what he gets for having sex with a woman and knowing absolutely nothing about her character. Now he has had a part in creating this life and he needs to man up and do the right thing!!!!
Sex is not an entitlement. It is a a responsibility. If your not willing to follow through, get a jar of vaseline.
I think it’s funny that people here keep throwing around the term deadbeat dad. By definition, a deadbeat dad is someone who will not pay legally madated child support.
And I totally agree with princess pea. Even after conception, a woman has the right to choose whether or not she wants to have and raise a child. I think it’s only fair that a man have that same choice. It’s not about sexism, it’s about equality.
He was probably just blindsided by the damn question! This is a relatively new situation he’s in, we don’t know the relationship he has with the mother – she may be totally shunning him right now for all we know – and he’s not used to having to include the brand new baby in his interview questions at the moment, especially in conversations about where he’s going to spend his holiday vacation with his ex-wife AND HIS THREE KIDS BY HER…, which he does every year. I would seriously doubt that would include all four kids at this juncture. Give the guy some time to adjust for pete’s sake!
And I cannot believe I’m defending him but there it is.