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Christian Bale Arrested, Accused of Assaulting Mother and Sister
By
John Del Signore
Published Jul 22, 2008
Modified Jul 22, 2008
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By
John Del Signore
Published Jul 22, 2008
Modified Jul 22, 2008
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While in London over the weekend to attend The Dark Knight premiere, Welsh actor Christian Bale was arrested after his 61-year-old mother and 40-year-old sister reported him to the police for assaulting them on Sunday night in his suite at London's Dorchester Hotel, on the eve of the premiere. Bale is still being held by police, but the Guardian has it that he was temporarily released from custody to attend the premiere, do interviews and other important stuff that puts movie stars above the law. It’s also unclear what sparked the alleged assault, but Bale’s mother is rumored to be a huge Michael Keaton fan.
UPDATE: Bale's attorneys have released the following statement denying the assault allegations: "Christian Bale attended a London police station today, on a voluntary basis, in order to assist with an allegation that had been made against him to the police by his mother and sister. Mr. Bale who denies the allegation, co-operated throughout, gave his account in full of the events in question, and has left the station without any charge being made against him by the police. At this time, there will be no further comment by Mr. Bale."
UPDATE 2: TMZ now says that "sources directly connected with the Christian Bale case" confirm "there was physical contact between Christian and his mom, but it amounted to next to nothing. We're told Bale pushed his mom out of the way during the altercation. She was not hurt and did not fall down. There's a division of opinion on whether the contact was a 'push' or a 'brush.'"
Earlier TMZ speculated that in England "there is such a thing as verbal assault... with 'an intent to cause alarm'. Was Christian's offense mouthing off to mom?" And People has it that Bale was released today "with a 10-man police escort, in a blacked-out silver Mercedes people carrier." So! Much! Gossip! Between this, Tricia Walsh-Smith and the salmonella scare, this is starting to remind us of the Summer of the Shark and Condit.
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John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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