Rapper Xzibit was dropped by his divorce lawyer due to a breakdown in their relationship months before a scheduled trial, In Touch can exclusively report.
According to court documents obtained by In Touch, attorney Maya Shulman, who has represented Xzibit (real name: Alvin Nathaniel Joiner) for years, asked for permission to withdraw from the case.
The lawyer said, "An irremediable breakdown has occurred in the attorney-client relationship between the Schulman Family Law Group and [Xzibit]."
She added, "The attorney-client relationship prevents disclosure of the details of the breakdown; however it can be disclosed due to a number of reasons Schulman can longer continue to represent [Xzibit] and there is a balance due." The lawyer said her office normally communicates with the entertainer via email. She said they sent him notice of the request to drop his as a client to his email.
Xzibit, 50, quickly hired a new attorney named Roslyn Soudry after Maya withdrew.
The move comes as Xzibit and his ex Krista Joiner continue fighting in the divorce. Krista filed for divorce in 2021 after six years of marriage.
The duo share a son named Gatlyn. The exes had another son, Xaiver, who died in 2008, days after his premature birth.
Since their split, Xzibit and Krista have been fighting over support and the division of assets. In 2022, the entertainer told the court his income had decreased due to less work coming in.
At the time, he said he was "struggling to make ends meet at the same time trying to uphold being a public figure, pay my own expenses and provide for my son."
He argued that Krista did not need support. He pointed out that she pulled in over $175,000 per year. Krista scoffed at the rapper's suggestion that his income had dropped.
She said Xzibit's brother had told her he was pulling in a seven-figure sum from his cannabis businesses. In court, Krista also claimed she was told the rapper kept substantial sums of cash in "bank-sized vaults."
Xzibit took to social media to call Krista's claims he stored cash in vaults "bulls-t." In July 2022, the court ordered the rapper to pay Krista temporary support.
She was also awarded $50,000 for her to hire a forensic accountant to comb through the rapper's financial records. According to the court docket, a hearing is scheduled for November 5 on discovery disputes between Xzibit and Krista.
A trial in the divorce is set for February 24, 2025.
Xzibit has been working in the industry since 1992. He started to rap at 14 and released his first album in 1996. He was hired to host the MTV show Pimp My Ride in 2004.
The show, which featured individuals having their cars remodeled, ran for six years on the network. The show boosted Xzibit's career and led to roles in films XXX: State of the Union and Derailed starring Clive Owen and Jennifer Aniston.