Jesse James: Leave Sandra Bullock Out of Custody Fight

Nov. 6, 2009 — -- Finally, Jesse James is speaking out about his bitter custody dispute with his porn star ex-wife, Janine Lindemulder. He doesn't want his current wife, actress Sandra Bullock, to be dragged into it.

"Sandra Bullock is not a party to this litigation," James' attorney, Marilyn Slifman, said in a statement to People magazine Friday. "Mr. James's sole concern is for the safety, welfare and best interests of his daughter. The proper forum to resolve this case is in the courtroom."

Slifman called Lindemulder's claims, made on "Good Morning America" earlier this week, "inaccurate and unfortunate."

"It hurts tremendously, the accusations, especially from Sandra," Lindemulder said on "GMA" Wednesday in her first interview about the case. "Even more so because we've never sat down and talked. You know, that's the one thing that I wish more than anything, for a remedy for what's happening here, is just communication."

Bullock, the perpetual girl-next-door actress famous for films including "The Proposal" and "Miss Congeniality," has been helping her husband raise his 5-year-old daughter, Sunny, since January, when Lindemulder was in prison for tax evasion.

Now out of jail, Lindemulder faces a fierce custody battle against James, the biker and star of cable TV's "Monster Garage," and his megawatt Hollywood actress wife who has said she relishes her role as a stepmother.

"What would give her the right to take away my daughter?" Lindemulder said. "You know, this is my daughter. I am the best mother I can be."

Lindemulder, who has appeared in more than 100 adult films, acknowledged making "horrific choices in the past," but says her life is back on track and that she deserves to keep custody of her daughter.

Bullock and James have called Lindemulder and her new husband, also a convicted felon, unfit.

In a letter to the judge at Lindemulder's sentencing, Bullock raised concerns about the girl's safety, alleging that the child was left alone during the day while Lindemulder was "asleep from drug use."

CLICK HERE to read the full text of Bullock's letter.

"I myself have stopped working like I used to in order to be here with Jesse and the kids because we are on constant high alert," Bullock wrote, "never knowing what condition Janine will be in, and even more concerning, the condition [the girl] will be in."

Lindemulder, 40, has admitted to substance abuse in the past but said there have been long stretches of time when she hasn't used any drugs.

"Sandy doesn't know what goes on in my house," she said. "I'd love for her to. Please come over, you know, I'll make dinner, you know, let's sit down, [as] two women."