08 November 2023 , 17:28
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Olympic diver Tom Daley’s husband was today cleared of assault.
A reality TV star’s claims that she was assaulted by Dustin Lance Black were dismissed as inconsistent and not sufficient to secure a conviction.
CCTV footage played to Westminster Magistrates’ Court today showed Mr Black grappling with TV host Teddy Edwardes at Freedom Bar in London's Soho while a former Love Island winner and Daley himself looked on in shock.
Moments after the alleged assault by 49-year-old Oscar-winning screenwriter Mr Black, reality TV host Ms Edwardes punched the American in the back of the head.
The legal team for father-of-two Mr Black, who won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the 2008 movie Milk, say the violent attack resulted in a concussion for their client.
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Dustin Lance Black arrives at Westminster Magistrates' Court, London, with his husband, Olympic champion diver Tom Daley (PA)
Mr Black has been cleared by a judge (Vianney Le Caer/REX/Shutterstock)But District Judge Louisa Ciecióra concurred with a late defence application this afternoon that there was insufficient and inconsistent evidence put forward by the prosecution to prove that Mr Black had ever touched Ms Edwardes’ wrist.
After he was cleared of the accusations, Mr Black released a statement which read: "I am pleased that the judge saw the truth today and ruled in my favour. As the evidence has proven, and I have always maintained, I am completely innocent, and in fact was the victim in this case of a serious assault. I am relieved this unfortunate matter is now over."
The judge also criticised Ms Edwardes for lying to police about the first time she saw the CCTV of the footage - after police officers earlier gave evidence to say the footage was ‘leaked’ - and for posting about the incident on social media platforms before telling the court it was ‘not real life’.
She said: “The defence submit that there’s no case to answer. Ms Edwardes said she didn’t see a difference between her drink being spilled and Mr Black grabbing her wrist; that the outcome is the same. But there is a difference. The charge was brought on Mr Black having grabbed her wrist.
“Grabbing a glass does not amount to an assault. Throwing a drink does amount to an assault - but that’s not what is being alleged here. Ms Edwardes’ account didn’t mention her wrist being grabbed until a very late stage.
“I didn’t consider her explanations - including that she was angry when she wrote some posts on social media, or that social media is not real life - to be at all constructive. I consider that the evidence, taken at its highest, is such that I cannot convict properly Mr Black of the charge. I therefore dismiss the charge.”
Ms Ciecióra also ordered the Crown to pay towards Mr Black’s legal costs, though an exact figure was not disclosed in court.
The court had earlier heard that Mr Black, who did not react as his case was dismissed, had lost £600,000 in revenue due to the case.
Making her application to dismiss the case, Helena Duong said: “Clearly, at the outset, the prosecution had the assault as a grab of Ms Edwardes’ wrist.
“[Edwardes] is a person who has demonstrated aggression towards [Mr Black] from beginning to end, and someone who has admitted in her own words to having chosen violence. I understand it is quite rare for cases to be stopped at this point, but, in my submission, when you are faced with such unreliable and inconsistent evidence, you can put a stop at this stage.”
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Ms Ahmed told the court that Ms Edwardes’ was ‘clear’ in her evidence that Mr Black had touched her wrist.
But Ms Duong said this could not be seen in the CCTV footage, and that Ms Edwardes had lied ‘on a number of occasions’ during her evidence. Police body warn footage played to the court earlier showed Mr Black calmly explaining what happened in the altercation at Freedom Bar.
Dressed in a white vest and a pink Hawaiian shirt, Mr Black suggests to the officer Ms Edwardes’ group may have become ‘infatuated’ by the celebrity presence of himself and his husband, Mr Daley, but didn’t want their ‘non-famous’ friend there.
In the footage, played to the court, he says: “I got hit in the head by a woman. In terms of motivation, we had a friend we invited to the table and she didn’t want him there so I left.
“They invited us to their table because, I think, they were infatuated with the celebrity; but they didn’t want the non-famous person at the table. I said, ‘You have to stop drinking, you have to stop drinking’. She punched me very hard in the head.”