Soul superstar James Brown has announced his separation from his fourth wife using an advertisement featuring the Disney character Goofy.
The 70-year-old placed the notice in Hollywood's trade paper Variety.
It featured a picture of himself, his wife Tomi Rae and their two-year-old son, James Joseph Brown II, posing with Goofy at Walt Disney World.
A colleague of Brown's told Variety the Goofy photo was chosen to emphasise the happy times the family had shared, rather than the pain of a separation.
Brown and Tomi Rae, who is in her 30s, said in a statement: "Due to their demanding tour schedule, they have decided to go their separate ways.
"There are no hard feelings, just a mutual showbusiness decision made by both parties. With love and affection we both reached this decision."
The couple married in December 2001. Tomi Rae is on tour with Brown in Europe now as one of his backing singers, and the couple said they may continue working together.
Turbulent
While Brown has become an icon of popular music thanks to hits like Sex Machine and I Feel Good, he has suffered a turbulent personal life.
His marriage to Tomi Rae came as he rebuilt his career after a troubled few years, which included the death of his third wife, Adrienne, in 1996 following complications to cosmetic surgery she had been undergoing.
Brown was jailed in 1988 after threatening people at his office complex in Georgia with a shotgun, accusing them of using his toilet without permission.
He led police on a trail across two states before surrendering in South Carolina, and was sentenced to six years in jail for weapons and assault offences.
Brown was released on parole in 1991, but was convicted of a further drug offence in 1998.
South Carolina authorities issued him with a formal pardon for his crimes earlier this year, in recognition of his artistic achievements.
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