Family can bring it out of you. If it was only a verbal altercation, then I’ve been there, done that, got a closet full of t-shirts. Hitting would be something else, though.
Beyond the pale.
It took me a while too.
I hear he shouted at a man in Reno just to watch him cry.
I do remember hearing this as a law they’d sneaked in a while back, and would not be surprised if the nanny lunatics who are currently running the country had passed such a law.
However, looking for a cite, all I could find was something dated the 1st of April 2006…
Ah wait, this seems clearer…
In recent times, the current government in the uk has always maintained that its vaguely worded new laws in the uk wouldn’t be abused, and only used for special cases… However, they also claimed that the snooping powers most authorities have now would only be used for investigating Terrorism, but its been shown recently that they’ve been used to monitor peoples use of their bins…
I get the feeling they read the book 1984, and didn’t quite get the point of it, and thought it was a good idea…
Yeah, I heard he made Bale.
Daniel
At least he wasn’t out Robin liquor stores.
Seriously! Who here hasn’t had that kind of family get-together? I’m just glad nobody in my family is notable enough to warrant media attention. US Weekly would always have something to report: “Grandma Gets Drunk, Throws Glass of Booze at Christmas Dinner.” “Cbawlmer and Sister Come to Blows Over Nintendo Controller, Later Have Slapfight in Front Pew During Mass.”
It doesn’t sound like he’s being charged with anything, so hopefully the press will just let it drop and maybe the Bales can all learn to peacefully avoid each other.
I just read this article that gives a little more info.
Haven’t most people had arguments like that? Where they yelled and later wished they’d left earlier, and they brushed by/slightly shoved the other person.
I think it’s wierd that England has “verbal assault” as a chargeable offense. Ongoing “verbal abuse” I could see as grounds for a restraining order/divorce/whatever, but a single incident of a loud argument?
“Intent to cause alarm?” Could a person get arrested for saying that George Lucas was working on a Jar Jar Binks triology?
In all seriouness, that sounds like the kind of set to that everyone has had with their parents and siblings. I’m starting to wonder if maybe the mom called the police just to be a bitch.
Here I’ve known people who’ve had death threats and had their homes broken into by people (usually estranged spouses or exes) who weren’t even able to get a restraining order. I can’t imagine the looks you’d get for calling the cops to arrest someone for yelling at you.
Aiyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
:: grabs gun and heads for Skywalker Ranch ::
So…Mama picks a fight by saying ugly things about her daughter-in-law, they get into a shouting match, and somehow the police get involved, but Mama says she didn’t call the cops. So how did the police get involved? Maybe the hotel staff?
I want to know why his mother and sister were at his hotel. Were they staying with him, or did they just show up unannounced and uninvited?
I wonder who TMZ’s “sources” are.
Bet Bale’s PR people are just thrilled having the word “assault” associated with their guy, especially if it was nothing more than a stupid family argument. Perfect timing, too.
I’m know I’m being stupidly nosy and way overthinking this, but I’m interested in how incidents get reported and how they affect someone’s perception of an appealing celebrity. Is your first reaction “No – can’t be true!” or “Oh, too bad. I always liked him”?
I know enough about entertainment “journalism” to know that it’s never wise to believe what you first hear, especially story with scandal potential. Those stories are written to increase ratings/circulation/web hits, not to tell a true story. When I hear stories like this, which was pretty detail-free when it broke yesterday, I generally wait until more facts can be established before forming a real opinion.
Finally, I understand why I have to turn the TV up so loud to understand anything from the BBC. The actors must be terrified of being arrested if they raise their voices.
Seriously though, I feel bad for the whole family, having what should have been a stupid, private thing blown up into this monstrosity. When I first heard about this on the radio, they made it sound like Bale was some sort of evil woman beater, which seemed very strange. Considering his history in activism and that his step-mother was Gloria frickin’ Steinem, it just…didn’t compute.
I’d like to see a cite better than Fox News for that thing about “Class 4” and “Class 5”. I’ve never heard of it, although admittedly IANAL. But in general, assault means more than just shouting at somebody. The victim must “apprehend immediate use of unlawful violence.”
I wonder if the Police kept him there for a couple of extra hours to sign Batman merchandise. I’ve heard of that kind of thing happening before. Even cops can get starstruck.
Wonder whether he used his Welsh or American accent when he assaulted them.
The best cite in reference to a “class 5 assault” that I can find through a search engine that is not related to Christian Bale is a single comment on Yahoo! Answers.
In the workplace, the HSE refers to threatening words as verbal assault, but that clearly doesn’t apply here.
I think they could nab you on that one for inciting a riot.
Worst case I ever heard of was the doctor who had George Harrison sign things (a guitar, photos, autographs, etc.) when he was terminally ill and so weak the doctor had to hold his wrist while he signed. There was some speculation (not sure how substantiated) that the doctor planned to sell the merchandise as “last things Harrison ever signed”. Whatever the case, the Harrison family did not take kindly to it.