Jodie Turner-Smith shared cryptic song lyrics with her Instagram followers amid her custody battle with ex-husband Joshua Jackson.
The Acolyte actress, 38, posted a clip on Friday, June 13, of Ariana DeBose singing “This Wish” from the 2023 Disney animated movie Wish. In the Instagram clip, DeBose sings, “So I look up at the stars to guide me / And throw caution to every warning sign / I’m sure there will be challenges that find me / But I can take them on one at a time.”
Turner-Smith also paid tribute to DeBose for her appearance at the Tony Awards on Sunday, June 8, referring to the Oscar winner as her “fave multi-hyphenate.”
“You looked beautiful, [Ariana]. Still need you to sing for my little one,” Turner-Smith wrote alongside a photo of herself with British reality star Vas J Morgan.
Turner-Smith is currently involved in a custody battle with ex-husband Jackson, 47, over their daughter Juno, who was born in April 2020. They agreed to share joint legal and physical custody of their child in a May 2024 divorce agreement, in addition to agreeing Turner-Smith could choose Juno’s school.
Jackson later had a change of heart and tried to stop Turner-Smith from sending their daughter to a new school for the 2025-26 school year. Turner-Smith subsequently asked a judge to force Jackson into complying with her choice for their daughter’s education.
As part of the legal battle, Jackson and Turner-Smith both wrote impassioned letters to one another to explain their points of view. Jackson expanded on his objection to Juno changing schools and rejected Turner-Smith’s request for their daughter to accompany her on a film shoot in Morocco.
“I am happy that we are having this dialogue and look forward to coming to an agreement together that balances all of [Juno’s] needs to provide her with the best outcome possible,” Jackson wrote to his ex-wife. “I think that maximizing that frequent, continuing and meaningful contact should be our guiding light [through] all of these conversations and planning of parenting time. Juno needs both of us. Ideally, exactly equally.”
In her letter, Turner-Smith stressed the importance of their biracial daughter having a Black mother in her life as she’s growing up.
“I want to raise the subject of something that has been weighing heavily on me — and it’s grounded not just in instinct or emotion, but in widely established research,” she explained. “Before Juno was born, you and I spoke at length about what she would need to grow into a strong, self-assured young person.”
The actress went on, “Central to those conversations was the importance of the maternal bond — and more specifically, the critical role that being close to her Black mother would play in shaping her identity and self-esteem. Research consistency shows that for biracial children, particularly with a Black mother, that connection is not peripheral — it is foundational. It plays a vital role in identity formation, emotional resilience, and long-term psychological well-being.”
She encouraged Jackson to recognize that Juno is already “beginning to experience” the “daily realities” of having divorced parents.
“That vision we once shared hasn’t changed,” she wrote. “And it begins here — in ensuring that Juno is not only protected, but affirmed, reflected and deeply rooted in who she is.”
A source exclusively told Us Weekly that Turner-Smith’s priority has always been “Juno’s well-being — not conflict, not press and certainly not performative parenting.”
Jackson and Turner-Smith finalized their divorce in May 2024, over one year after the initial filing. Turner-Smith received $2,787 per month in child support from Jackson, in addition to two payments of $133,333, in lieu of spousal support.
As part of this divorce deal, Turner-Smith kept “earnings, accumulations and efforts prior to marriage, during marriage and post-separation,” as well as “all cash and personal belongings, including, without limitation, clothing, jewelry, watches and other personal effects of [Jodie] in her possession and/or under her control” and interest in her businesses.
Jackson gets to keep all of the earnings he made before, during and after their 2019 marriage, his jewelry and watches, plus his two homes in Los Angeles. The former Dawson’s Creek actor also kept bank, investment and retirement accounts, his businesses, all vehicles in his name and any insurance payouts to come from the loss of his Los Angeles home in the recent wildfires.
Turner-Smith and Jackson tied the knot in 2019 after dating for one year. She filed for divorce four years later in October 2023, citing irreconcilable differences as the reason for their split.
