Actor Jason Patric is fighting back against California’s confusing laws that have kept him away from son Gus.
Patric fathered the boy, 3, with girlfriend Danielle Schreiber via in-vitro fertilization. But the couple later broke up and Patric wasn’t recognized as the father, according to California law, which gives sperm donors no parental rights unless they are married to the mother or have a written agreement.
“The Lost Boys” star says he hasn’t seen Gus in 38 weeks since Schreiber cut off contact. Now, the distressed dad is taking action. He hosted the first Stand Up for Gus fund-raiser in Los Angeles Wednesday night to raise money to support a legal defense for families who have been “broken down from this system.”
Patric explained to us: “I don’t have nights with Gus anymore, so I’m going to have this evening, and we’re going to shine a light on this injustice.”
A-list supporters of Patric’s cause on Wednesday included Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Jon Hamm, Chelsea Handler and Kiefer Sutherland. Damon committed $15,000 to the cause during a paddle raise, but Mel Gibson trumped Damon’s offer and coughed up $20,000, to which emcee Joe Buck quipped: “Well Matt, you know what just happened . . . Mel just made your 15 look like nothing.”
Patric plans to make the fund-raiser more than a one-off event — “not only an annual thing, it’s a movement,” he said. “It’s going to continue every day and we need more than one event a year. I hope one day Gus will be running it on his own.”