Lunden Roberts has emerged over the past several years as a central figure in a highly publicized legal dispute involving Hunter Biden, the son of former US President Joe Biden. While initially a private individual with no political or public profile, Roberts became widely known after a paternity case established that Hunter Biden was the father of her daughter, Navy Joan Roberts. Since then, the matter has evolved into a prolonged conflict over child support, parental responsibility, and compliance with court orders, repeatedly drawing national attention because of Hunter Biden’s family ties and legal troubles.
Roberts’ latest court filing in Arkansas, in which she has asked a judge to consider jailing Hunter Biden for contempt of court, marks another escalation in a dispute that has spanned years. The motion alleges that Hunter has failed to comply with previous court orders related to child support and other obligations concerning their now seven-year-old daughter.
The request for incarceration, framed as both a civil and criminal penalty, underscores the intensity of the ongoing conflict and the frustration expressed by Roberts over what she describes as persistent noncompliance and disregard for the authority of the court. To understand why Roberts has taken this step, it is necessary to examine who she is, how her relationship with Hunter Biden unfolded, and how their legal battle has progressed alongside Hunter’s broader personal and legal controversies.
Lunden Roberts and Her Relationship With Hunter Biden
Lunden Roberts is a former waitress and business graduate who met Hunter Biden while he was living in Arkansas in 2016. At the time, Hunter Biden was grappling with substance abuse issues and personal upheaval following the death of his brother Beau Biden and the breakdown of his marriage. Roberts and Hunter engaged in a brief relationship that resulted in Roberts becoming pregnant.
When Navy Joan Roberts was born in August 2018, Hunter Biden initially denied that he was the child’s father. This denial set the stage for a contentious paternity lawsuit filed by Roberts in Arkansas. In 2019, a court-ordered DNA test conclusively established Hunter Biden as the biological father. The confirmation ended the paternity dispute but opened the door to a far more complex legal battle over child support, financial disclosure, and parental obligations.
For Roberts, the case was not merely about establishing paternity but about securing consistent financial support for her daughter. She argued that Hunter Biden, despite his struggles, had substantial earning potential and financial resources, particularly given his background in law, consulting, and art. The case drew public scrutiny not only because of Hunter’s last name but also because of the broader political environment in which Joe Biden was running for the presidency.
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During this period, Hunter Biden did not publicly acknowledge Navy Joan as his daughter, a point that Roberts has repeatedly highlighted in court filings and public statements. She has argued that this lack of acknowledgment contributed to emotional harm and reinforced a sense of exclusion for the child, especially when compared with Hunter’s other children from previous relationships.
The Arkansas Court Case and Child Support Dispute
Following the confirmation of paternity, the Arkansas court began addressing the issue of child support. Initially, Roberts sought substantial monthly payments, citing Hunter Biden’s income history and lifestyle. Court documents indicated that at one point, child support payments were set at approximately $20,000 per month, reflecting Hunter’s reported earnings at the time.
However, as Hunter Biden’s financial circumstances changed and his legal troubles mounted, the support arrangements were revisited. In 2023, Roberts and Hunter reached a settlement that significantly reduced the monthly child support payments to $5,000. As part of this agreement, Roberts consented to several conditions, including that the child would not take the Biden surname. The settlement was presented as a compromise intended to bring stability and avoid prolonged litigation.
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One of the more unusual elements of the settlement involved Hunter Biden’s artwork. Hunter, who had pursued painting as part of his recovery process, transferred several of his paintings to his daughter. These works were later sold, reportedly generating around $1.5 million. According to Roberts’ latest court filing, Hunter selected which paintings would be transferred, rather than allowing the child or her representatives to choose. Roberts has argued that this violated the spirit, if not the letter, of prior court orders and deprived the child of a meaningful connection to her father.
The motion filed by Roberts accuses Hunter Biden of willfully ignoring court directives, a claim that forms the basis for her request that he be held in contempt. In the filing, she urged the court to consider incarceration as a civil penalty until Hunter complies with the court’s orders, as well as criminal sanctions to address what she described as a blatant disregard for judicial authority. Such requests are relatively rare in child support cases but are sometimes pursued when a party is alleged to have repeatedly failed to comply with court rulings.
Roberts has also alleged that Hunter has effectively “ghosted” his daughter, particularly after she published her memoir, Out of the Shadows. She claims that contact between Hunter and the child diminished significantly, leaving the girl to come to terms with the reality that she would not share the same lifestyle or relationship enjoyed by Hunter’s other children. These allegations have added an emotional dimension to the legal arguments, reinforcing Roberts’ portrayal of Hunter as both financially and personally absent.
Broader Context: Hunter Biden’s Legal Troubles and Public Scrutiny
The dispute between Lunden Roberts and Hunter Biden has unfolded against the backdrop of Hunter’s broader legal and personal challenges, which have kept him under intense public scrutiny. In 2023, Hunter entered into a plea agreement with federal prosecutors, pleading guilty to two misdemeanor tax offenses. As part of that agreement, a felony charge related to illegal gun possession was dropped after Hunter agreed to undergo rehabilitation treatment. He has spoken openly about his long-standing struggles with drug and alcohol addiction, framing his legal issues as part of a broader effort to confront and recover from those problems.
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Beyond his criminal cases, Hunter Biden has faced sustained political and media scrutiny over his past business dealings, particularly his role on the board of Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company, during the period when Joe Biden served as Vice President. Although multiple investigations have not established that Joe Biden acted improperly, the association has remained a focal point for critics and has amplified attention on all aspects of Hunter’s personal life, including the dispute with Roberts.
Within this broader context, Roberts’ motion for contempt has taken on heightened significance. Supporters of Roberts argue that the case should be viewed as a straightforward matter of child support enforcement, no different from similar disputes involving less prominent individuals. From this perspective, Hunter Biden’s family connections should not shield him from the consequences of failing to comply with court orders.
Hunter Biden’s legal team, in previous filings, has argued that his income has fluctuated dramatically and that some of Roberts’ demands were based on outdated or unrealistic assessments of his financial situation. They have also emphasized that settlements reached with Roberts were intended to resolve the matter and provide stability for the child. How the court will weigh these competing claims remains to be seen.
Roberts’ latest filing also highlights disparities between the support provided to Navy Joan and that available to Hunter’s other children, including Beau, his son with current wife Melissa Cohen. Roberts has argued that while no court can compel Hunter to be an involved parent, it can ensure that Navy receives a level of financial support comparable to that of her half-siblings. This argument goes to the heart of child support law, which prioritizes the best interests of the child and seeks to ensure equitable treatment regardless of parental circumstances.
As the Arkansas court considers Roberts’ motion, the outcome could have implications beyond this individual case. A decision to impose contempt sanctions, particularly incarceration, would send a strong signal about the enforcement of child support orders, even against high-profile defendants. Conversely, a more restrained response could reinforce arguments about the limits of judicial intervention in deeply personal family disputes.
For Lunden Roberts, the motion represents another effort to assert what she sees as her daughter’s rights in a system that has, in her view, too often favored delay and negotiation over enforcement. For Hunter Biden, it is yet another legal challenge in a period marked by public reckoning and ongoing scrutiny. The case continues to illustrate how private family conflicts can become matters of national attention when they intersect with politics, celebrity, and the courts.
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