Ayesha Howard, who has children with both NBA player Anthony Edwards and rapper Lil Baby, is fighting back against allegations of financial motivation in relationships. Howard was called various names by social media critics who portrayed her as a “gold digger,” but she has pushed back on all of those characterizations on multiple platforms. In recent comments, she pushed back against assertions Edwards paid her more than $1 million in child support in advance and against those claiming she moved to California to collect more payments.
Howard initially gained public prominence through her high-profile relationships with Lil Baby and Anthony Edwards. Although she has been a staple in celebrity gossip, she was back in the public spotlight recently due to legal issues with Edwards over their October 2024-born child, Aubri Summers Howard.
Minnesota Timberwolves shooting guard Edwards has denied having an interest in custody or visits and has only requested satisfaction of financial obligations. Edwards’s move created webbased speculation that Howard moved home to California as a way of benefiting from state child-support law, with some claiming Howard strategically relocated to California so he can gain leverage under state child-support law. Edwards has consistently refuted these charges.
One of the more far-reaching rumors was that Edwards had paid Howard $1,080,000 in advance to provide 18 years of child support. On April 2, 2025, Howard publicly refuted this rumor, denouncing it as “fake news.” She clarified no such agreement had been reached and was insistent there was no legal backing agreeing with the rumor.
The dispute between Howard and Edwards heated up in September 2024 when Edwards was the one who filed a paternity and child support action in Georgia, asking to have Howard’s paternity verified by genetic testing. Howard retaliated by filing a different action in California on grounds that she and her child already had residence there.
Edwards charged Howard with seeking to take advantage of the legal system and gain larger child support payments, a charge she has vigorously disputed. Adding to the complications was Howard’s assertion in February 2025 that Edwards had pressed her to get an abortion when she told him she was pregnant. Howard posted screenshots of text messages she claimed to have received from Edwards in which he seemed hesitant to become involved with the child’s life. Howard condemned this attitude by suggesting that fatherhood doesn’t come with an option and by highlighting a woman’s right to choose.
It has generated heated discussion on social media as well. There have been numerous X and Instagram users who are doubting Howard’s motives and accusing her of having turned a career out of becoming a “baby mama” to affluent men. Some others say she is also defending Howard by claiming she’s being very unfairly judged and focusing on Edwards’ role as a parent instead of Howard’s actions.
Posts with Howard accompanied by pictures of Edwards in his Timberwolves jersey only fueled the fire, with others wondering if Edwards was being singled out because he was gaining popularity.
Under American law, child-support payments are usually arranged according to both a custodial parent’s income and a child’s needs. California has more generous child-support legislation in favor of custodial parents than Georgia, possibly accounting for why Edwards was worried about venue. Howard has insisted, however, that she chose to file in California because she was not doing so out of financial reasons but due to practicality as she and her child are based there.
