By Ismael AbduSalaam
Producer Swizz Beatz (Kasseem Dean) has requested a court-approved gag order in the divorce proceedings with R&B singer Mashonda.
Upon announcement of the divorce last year, gossip columns and sites began speculating the reason for the split was due to Swizz Beatz' alleged affair with R&B superstar Alicia Keys.
After vehemently denying the claims for months, Swizz confirmed the relationship earlier this month.
Mashonda attorney Bernard Clair criticized the request, lambasting the veteran producer for child neglect and his verse on Drake's "Best I Ever Had Remix," which the high-powered divorce lawyer claimed was a classless attempt to brag about the affair that allegedly ended his marriage.
Speaking to the New York Post, Clair stated the issues with the divorce and child support were "flying under the radar until Mr. Dean and Alicia Keys went public about their long-term affair and he released a song implying that he likes it when Alicia serves him breakfast naked. Now that Mr. Dean's questionable conduct is being scrutinized, he suddenly wants a gag order and the media to be locked out?"
The former couple divorced last April after four years of marriage.
Their one child, Kasseem, Jr., was born in December 2007.
At press time, Manhattan Superior Court Justice Deborah Kaplan has not made a ruling on Swizz Beatz's gag order request.