Thomas Campbell-USA TODAY Sports

Updates from Tuesday, Jan. 21

TMZ has the latest on the legal situation surrounding Arian Foster:

Arian Foster is SUING the woman pregnant with his child for defamation -- claiming she's been LYING about him in public in a diabolical scheme to shake him down for a fortune ... TMZ Sports has learned.



The Houston Texans running back filed the suit in Texas ... saying Brittany Norwood's claims that Arian and his brother tried to strong-arm her into aborting the child are nothing more than a "calculated scheme" to extort the NFL star.



In the suit, Arian says he has PROOF to back up his claims ... including text messages AND a legal recording of a conversation he had with Brittany in which she ADMITS her allegations are false.

Updates from Monday, Jan. 20

TMZ's Staff has obtained audio of Brittany Norwood discussing details surrounding the lawsuit:

... Norwood spoke with Arian and ADMITTED the claims in her lawsuit are BS ... saying bluntly, "I never once said that you told me to get an abortion." During the conversation, Norwood seems to be throwing her lawyer under the bus ... saying she never signed off on some of the bombshell allegations in her suit and didn't want to pursue the restraining order she asked for in court docs.



"I'm not going to sit here and be like okay with -- those papers said, 'harassment,' like 'in fear.' I was never in fear of my life around you. Like, I didn't f*cking need a restraining order."



She continued, "You never harassed me. Like, I will tell him that verbatim. Like, as I have told him that, and that something in here needs to be f*cking changed because it's not fair, because -- and I said that. I was like Arian's not a monster."



"Like, I'm sorry that those papers ... because I was told that they weren't going to go anywhere. He said, you know, this is just to get the ball rolling, and then if we settle outside of court, we settle outside of court and it never goes public."



Brittany went on to praise Arian ... saying, "Like, I love you and you're still the father of my child ... You think I'm going to let anybody like desecrate your name, especially if my baby has Foster tagged to it? Come on."

TMZ continued with a statement from Norwood discussing this previous conversation and her perception to the public:

We reached out to Brittany who told us she didn't remember the conversation and tells us, "I don't care what the world thinks of me, at the end of the day, I'm educated, I work hard to make a life for my son, be a role model, and [my son's] super woman."



"The truth will always come out. At the end of the day, Arian knows the truth and I know the truth. It's none of the world's business anymore."

Updates from Wednesday, Jan. 15

Isiah Carey of MyFoxHouston.com provides a transcript and video of his conversation with Foster attempting to discuss the lawsuit:

Isiah: there's no way we can get a word with you? Arian: please get off my property man...please bro. Arian: is your story that important to you, it is really dog. Arian: do you know how this s**t is tearing me apart? isiah: i understand that and i... Arian: then come on man, let's get real man. Arian: look at me in my eyes and tell me this is alright man? Arian: that's not ok dog I've got family here. I got two kids here bro. isiah: I got it but we're not showing your home's location. Arian: I don't care bro, I don't care. I'll talk to y'all when I feel it's right and it's not right man. isiah: ok. Arian: you believe her all you want to dog I know in my heart. I know what's in me man. this is my house. isiah: can I leave my card with you? Arian: no bruh, I know how to get in contact with you man.

Craig Hlavaty of the Houston Chronicle is also reporting that the lawsuit is on hold until Norwood gives birth:

All the hearings have been postponed and we are currently in settlement negotiations," said attorney Douglas Ray York , who is representing Norwood. York said he hopes for an amicable settlement between Foster and Norwood and reiterated that there should be a respect for the privacy of all involved. The attorney wouldn't specify any dollar amounts being considered in the negotiations. York did say that if negotiations break down, Norwood may speak more to the media.

---Original Text---

A woman claiming to be pregnant with Arian Foster's child has filed a lawsuit against the Houston Texans running back after he allegedly tried coaxing her into having an abortion.

In court documents obtained by TMZ, the woman, identified as Brittany Norwood, claims to be at least 17 weeks pregnant with Foster's child.

Norwood claims that Foster attempted to persuade her into having an abortion after finding out about the child, and enlisted members of his family—specifically his brother—to do the same.

"If you love [Arian] so much you would get an abortion," the lawsuit claims Arian's brother said.



Photos obtained by TMZ show Brittany and Foster together, taking loving selfies and acting like a couple. It is unclear when those pictures were taken or whether they will be used as evidence to corroborate a relationship in court.

The lawsuit, filed in Texas, will be looked at by a judge to see whether the woman's claims carry any veracity. In court documents, she claims to have DNA testing that proves Foster fathered the child with a 99.9 percent probability.

TMZ's Staff later reported Foster responded to the allegations:

Now, we've learned Foster filed a response ... in which he blasts Brittany as a shameless fame whore -- and he's begging the judge to seal her lips before she turns the legal battle into a media "carnival."



In his legal docs, Foster claims Brittany has "already indicated in social media postings announcing that she will participate in a reality show revolving around her pregnancy and thereby draw additional media attention."



Foster included a recent screen grab from what he believes to be Brittany's Twitter page in which she wrote, "Shooting interviews for the last casting reel for my family's reality show #blondashians."



Foster has been married to his wife, Romina, since 2011. Together, the couple has a four-year-old daughter, Zeniah, about whom the former Pro Bowl running back wrote in Yahoo!'s Shine section this past September. They also have a son, Khyro, who was born last year.

A three-time All-Pro and Pro Bowl selection, Foster was limited to just eight games this past season due to injuries. The aliments ranged from hamstring problems to an injured back, causing him to rush for only 542 yards. He is currently recovering from surgery on a bulging disk in his back.

Neither Foster nor his representatives have commented on the lawsuit at this time.

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