Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is seeking $1.6 million from his alleged daughter Alexandra Davis and her mother, Cynthia Davis. Jones is scheduled to testify Tuesday in the trial that began Monday.
And on Monday, a lot happened.
Paul Wedding on WFAA.com I wrote down the events of that day. It’s both comprehensive and dizzying.
The suit stems from a 1998 agreement that settled paternity claims against Jones with a large payment in exchange for extensive confidentiality agreements. Jones alleges that Alexandra and Cynthia Davis violated the confidentiality clauses. $1.6 million from legal fees He is said to have lost a lot of money defending a lawsuit filed by Alexandra Davis in 2022 attempting to prove he was her father, which is still under appeal.
In opening statements, Jones’ attorney, Chip Babcock, argued that the breach occurred when the paternity suit was filed. Jay Gray, the attorney representing Alexandra and Cynthia Davis, argued that Jones first breached the agreement by repeatedly acknowledging Alexandra Davis as his daughter.
“Alexandra Davis is Mr. Jones’ daughter,” Gray began, adding, “Mr. Jones knows that she is his daughter.”
Gray also called Jones a “bully.”
“He knows he is the real father but he is driven by a desire for revenge because his real family has been hurt,” Gray said.
Cynthia Davis testified on Monday. According to Wedding, she broke down in tears “many times” while on the stand. At one point, the judge adjourned the hearing because she was getting too emotional. Jones reportedly gave her a “long hug” as she left the stand. (Jones was sitting with his back to Alexandra Davis in the courtroom, according to Wedding.)
Cynthia Davis testified that Jones told her and a friend at a Christmas party in 2019 that he had two daughters, Alexandra Davis and Charlotte Jones, and that he loved them both equally. Babcock attacked this claim, pointing out that Cynthia Davis never accused Jones of violating the agreement after he leaked the secret to a third party.
Also in his opening statement, Gray said Alexandra Davis had only wanted to speak with Jones for 15 minutes in 2017, when she was nearly 21. Jones’ lawyers noted that she had also asked for $20 million to disappear from his life completely.
Cynthia Davis testified at the time that her daughter was upset and said in a report on the day of the wedding that the $20 million figure stemmed from the fact that “Jones had recently paid $20 million to her son, Jerry Jones Jr.’s illegitimate child.”
(If you think this is getting weirder and weirder, keep reading.)
Jones’ lawyers also claim that Cynthia Davis violated the agreement by giving confidential documents about her father-daughter relationship to Shy Anderson, who was in the midst of a messy divorce proceeding from Charlotte Jones at the time.
Cynthia Davis testified that Shai Anderson already knew from someone else that Alexandra Davis was Jerry’s daughter. (It seems likely that Shai Anderson should testify in this case, since his knowledge of the relationship could be traced back to Jerry Jones himself.)
And it’s only day one. When Jerry begins his testimony today, it may get even more interesting and compelling.
And ultimately, it’s sad: Whatever the motives and allegations, the relationship between father and daughter is deeply dysfunctional and will probably never be normal.
This week couldn’t get any more extraordinary than this, with a billionaire who owns a $250 million yacht trying to prove a point by demanding a paltry (for him) $1.6 million from his alleged (apparently real) daughter and her mother.
I’m shocked that it has come to this. Jerry is a firm believer that any publicity is good publicity, but this does nothing good for himself, his image, or his overall reputation.
