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Arts & Entertainment

Christian Bale Arrest May Be Part of Mom's "Shakedown"


By

John Del Signore

Published Jul 23, 2008

Modified Jul 23, 2008


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By

John Del Signore

Published Jul 23, 2008

Modified Jul 23, 2008


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072308bale.jpgMore details (and by details we mean gossip) have emerged on the Christian Bale arrest yesterday. The tabloids and TMZ have talked to an anonymous friend and are reporting that the heated shouting match that erupted in Bale’s hotel suite Sunday night was sparked by a disparaging comment made by his mother about his wife, Sandra (Sibi) Blazic. Says the friend:

Christian was stressed, but he didn't lay a finger on anyone. Instead, he flew off the handle and cussed his mother. He just got very loud because his mother was saying some very outrageous things about him, and his wife. He has stresses in his marriage He can have a terrible temper. Instead of lashing out at his wife, he sometimes lashes out at people around him. His marriage is not perfect, but his relationship with his mother is in much more trouble.

TMZ has it

that Bale’s relationship with his mother, a former circus clown named Jenny James, has been “bitter” ever since he moved to L.A. as a boy with his father after his parents’ divorce: “Christian's camp thinks this could be nothing more than a shakedown. We're told some newspapers and mags have already been throwing around ‘insane’ amounts of money for the story, so mom and sis could score big.”

The situation is complicated by the fact it's policy in England to arrest a suspect before questioning him in connection to a possible crime. It’s also been noted that “verbal assault” is a crime there, and that Bale has not been charged with anything, though he may be asked to speak with investigators again. For now he’s off to Barcelona for The Dark Knight premiere, in a country where crazy yelling is perfectly legal, if not customary.

Photo of Bale Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images

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John Del Signore

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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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