Kevin Costner has confirmed that he has no further contractual obligations to Yellowstone amid reports that his character, patriarch John Dutton, will die during the second half of Season 5.Costner is currently in the middle of a messy divorce from his wife of 18 years, Christine Baumgartner, and she is asking for $248,000 per month in child support.
She lists Costner’s 2022 income as $19.5 million dollars, but in a legal response filed on June 28, which Us Weekly obtained on June 29, Costner argues that he is on track to earn far less than that in 2023 because his participation in the hit show has come to an end.
“I will earn substantially less in 2023 than I did in 2022. This is because I am no longer under contract for Yellowstone, the principal source of my income last year,” the Oscar-winning actor and director states. “The fixed amount ‘pay or play’ and episodic compensation I received has ceased. Now, any compensation I earn from Yellowstone will derive only from my back-end contractual participation rights, which amounts are not fixed.”
Costner has also accused his estranged wife of padding her child support request with unrelated personal expenses, including cosmetic surgery, high-end shopping, large ATM withdrawals, credit card bills and her attorney fees. TMZ reports Baumgartner will contest the couple’s premarital agreement during a court appearance on July 5, while Costner’s attorney will argue that it remains firmly in place.
Costner faced off with the producers of Yellowstone earlier in 2023 over his shooting schedule for the second half of Season 5, which conflicted with another project called Horizon. Sources report that Costner’s character will die early in the second half of Season 5, and Paramount has announced Yellowstone will come to an end after the upcoming episodes. Matthew McConaughey will reportedly star a Yellowstone sequel, with details to be announced.