Crowe bailed after 'phone attack'
Crowe: will return to court in September
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Tuesday, 07, Jun 2005 10:31
Hollywood hardman Russell Crowe has appeared in court charged with striking a hotel worker with a telephone.
Crowe, in New York to promote his new film, allegedly threw the phone at the hotel desk clerk when he was unable to phone his wife in Australia.
The 28-year-old employee had to be treated in hospital for a cut below his eye.
Police arrested Crowe at the Mercer Hotel where the incident took place, and took him to a nearby police station.
He was charged with assault and possession of a weapon - the telephone - and taken to Manhattan criminal court in handcuffs.
Crowe, 41, was released on bail and will reappear at the same court on September 14.
In a statement, Crowe's publicist denied the actor had thrown the phone at anyone.
He said: "After asking the front desk several times to replace a faulty phone in his room - and getting only attitude from the clerk on duty - Crowe brought the phone down to the front desk in an effort to address the situation in person.
"Words were exchanged and Crowe wound up throwing the phone against the wall. He regrets that he lost his temper, but at no time did he assault anyone or touch any hotel employee."
The New Zealand born actor has a reputation for hell-raising. He reportedly pinned a director to a wall during a backstage altercation at the Bafta awards in 2002; and later that year was involved in a bust-up with a businessman in a London restaurant.
He has also admitted brawling with a bodyguard during the filming of his latest film Cinderella Man.