Mary Elizabeth Witherspoon, known as Betty, filed a lawsuit in Davidson County, Tennessee on Tuesday (08May12) alleging the Legally Blonde star's father John Witherspoon wed another woman while still married to her.

She claims John exchanged vows with Tricianne Taylor on 14 January (12) and she is seeking to have that union annulled, insisting she doesn't want a divorce, despite the pair being separated for several years.

The actress joined her father in court in Nashville on Friday for a closed hearing. She was videoed guiding her dad into the courtroom where Probate Judge Randy Kennedy listened to the case.

According to The Tennessean, Judge Kennedy deals with conservatorship and determining mental capacity. Betty claimed in her affidavit that her 70-year-old husband was suffering from dementia, claiming he had no clue who she was and denied knowledge of their marriage when she confronted him about his new wife.

The judge sealed all records in the case and barred the media from the hearing.