The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Dadwants ‘Cash Me Outside’ girl out of spotlight and in therapy
ROYALPALMBEACH, Fla. — Around this time a year ago, Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputy Ira Peskowitz stood in a greeting card aisle, fingers trembling as he fumbled through rows of pink and purple birthday wishes to find something pretty for a little girl with eyes like his.
Months before the six words she uttered on a Dr. Phil episode propelled her to internet infamy, Danielle PeskowitzBregoli reluctantly accepted the card andapair of Nikes from Peskowitz in a hastily-arranged meeting at the Boynton Beach Mall — more a peace offering than an early birthday present froma father shehadn’t seen in years.
Tears welled in Peskowitz’s eyes last week when he recalled that encounter during an exclusive newspaper interview with The Palm Beach Post.
Months intoher notoriety as the “CashMeOutside” girl forafight invitation shemade to audience members on the daytime talk show, Danielle is at the center of a custody battle recentlyrevivedbyher father, who says he wants her out of Hollywood, into therapy and eventually at his house with his wife and their two sons.
“She’s not famous,” Peskowitz said. “She’s a child that is being exploited.”
Ever since Peskowitz first brokehis silence withaPalm Beach Post interviewinFebruary, he said he’s received an overwhelming show of support fromother parents he claims, like him, were shut out of their children’s lives with disastrous results.
It was important to him to make at least two things clear, he said in the more recent interview. First, he and hisdaughter hadreconnected months before her Dr. Phil appearance and her now-viral taunt, “Cash me outside, howbowdah?” And, hesaid, hehas the emailsand paperwork to prove he was trying to get her help before the show.
Second, he said he has shunned offers of paid interviews and says he’ll never seek financial gain fromhis daughter’s story. To date, he says a GoFundMe page created to help with his legal fees has been the only public solicitation for help to fight what his attorney in court records earlier this month says are “intentional actions” of the girl’s mother, BarbaraBregoli, to keep him and Danielle apart.
Peskowitz sayshebelieves his daughter actually wants out of her fast-paced life and to return to Florida, attend school and have a normal childhood.
Although published reports and the girl’s Instagram page had her still in Los Angeles as of a few days ago, an attorney for a woman who sued Danielle and her mother Wednesday said theywererecentlyspotted in Florida.
Either way, plans appear to be underway to parlay the 13-year-old girl’s internet success into big public-appearance fees and a possible reality TV show. Danielle has already filmed advertisements for companies like FitTea on her Instagram page, which boasts 8.3 million followers.
A website linked to that pageonWednesdayalsowas accepting subscribers and had a countdown to what could be either a website launch or an announcement of some sort.
Peskowitz says he has talked to his daughter twice recently while she was in California. In one conversation, he said, Danielle told him her management team was upset he was fighting for custody, and she added that she no longer wanted him in her life.
“Danielle needs to know that I love her,” Peskowitz said from his Royal Palm Beach home, saying he can provide her with the loving environment sheneeds and adding: “I don’t think she really knows what love is.”
As of early Wednesday, Peskowitz said Bregoli, who was living in Boynton Beach with her daughter, hadn’t been served with court papers about his new custody dispute.
Once she is served, she’ll have20days to respond, and the two parents will eventually wind up in front of a Palm Beach County judge, who will ultimately decide whether Peskowitz will be allowed visitation and decision-making power in Danielle’s life.
In anothertwist tothefamily saga, published reports surfaced Wednesday with an undated video showing Barbaraand Danielle Bregoli in what looks like an altercation, with BargaraBregoli pulling Danielle by her hair and pushing her head into the ground while Danielle looks tobethrowingpunches back.
“We are aware of the video and are looking into it,” Boynton Beach police spokeswoman Stephanie Slater said Wednesday.