Christian Bale at ShoWest on 3/13/08. Credit: Nikki Nelson/ WENN
Note: I wrote this article before realizing Helen had also covered the subject. I like her take on it too, and there are two additional stories here about Bale that I wanted to publish.
Christian Bale was a relatively low-profile actor before hitting it big with Batman and making headlines with an alleged verbal assault on his mother and sister at a London hotel on Sunday. More details are emerging about the the confrontation and perhaps his state of mind at the time. Bale was brought in voluntarily for questioning at a London police station yesterday on allegations of a “Class 4” verbal assault. He was released without charge after five hours talking to police and has released a statment that he did not assault his mother or sister. Bale will return for another round of questioning in September, but that seems relatively common in these type of cases.
Sources say that Bale may have pushed or shoved his mother, but that any physical contact was minor. TMZ reports that it was either a “push” or “brush” but that Bale’s mother didn’t fall and she wasn’t hurt. His mother and sister did not make a report to police at the time and waited until the next day to go to their local precint, which referred the matter to London police. To his family’s credit, they are saying it is a family matter and a sensitive situation and are refusing to comment further.
The Daily Mail says that Bale lashed out verbally at his mother after she insulted Bale’s wife of eight years, and that he’s been depressed due to Heath Ledger’s death. Given the source it’s hard to know if that’s based on anything more than their imagination.
TMZ has a story of Bale’s bad mood on set that may paint a picture of a worn out guy with little patience. They say he was shooting Terminator 4 “last Friday,” which to me means Friday July 19, at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico and that he yelled and screamed a the director for messing up a shot, saying “I will kick your ass” among other things.
Bale has been promoting Dark Knight all over the world and now that I hear he’s been spending long hours on a film set I can see where he might be frustrated and tired. That doesn’t excuse freaking out at his mom, but I’m not about to pass judgment on this guy for getting upset. We don’t know what relations are like between Bale and his family and there’s probably a lot of bad history there. He’s not doing drugs or driving drunk and he didn’t hit anyone or even break any furniture. In my mind this is a family issue and a minor incident. He needs to work on controlling his temper and taking breaks if he’s having trouble coping, but there’s no reason to vilify him based on this first negative report that’s come out about him.
Very thoughtful commentary, Celebitchy. I agree with you. Not sure how I’d come off in the press if they followed my every mood and mistake.
I feel like biting the heads off of baby kittens when I just have jet lag. Lack of sleep does that to me.
My Mother could always ‘push my buttons’. That’s because she ‘installed’ them.
I feel for this guy. With his premiers, and working on a new film, it does sound exhausting. Hopfully he will be able to take some time off with his family and recharge his batteries.
Why is this such a big deal? It sounds like a tempest in a tea-cup.
Uh-oh. Two big stories about Bale’s anger issues in one week? Somebody somewhere has a serious anti-Bale agenda. My Spidey sense is tingling…
“there’s no reason to vilify him based on this first negative report that’s come out about him.” Totally right. Plus, I don’t think any rational person is buying this assault crap anyway. He’s a great actor, but kind of a normal boring guy. This should be old news in a few days.
My mother could always ‘push my buttons’ That’s because she ‘installed’ them……
Oh, TOUCHE daisy424, I’ll have to remember that
I thought I remember reading somewhere that he was an ass on the “3:10 to Yuma” set, too.
If it was just a family matter, why did they report it to the police? They had to know it would cause a media frenzy.
It’s official : he’s arrived (read: in tabloid crap news now)
Sorry buddy it only gets worse from here..
celebslam had a reader whose dad worked at the hotel and posted this:
edna @ 07/22/2008 at 9:58 am
His mom and sister are alcoholics and drug addicts, they showed up at his hotel uninvited and highly intoxicated. they were calling him big shot and that he needs to take care of his own. His mom was yelling that he would be nothing without her and he owed her. His sister was begging for money and when he was pushing her toward the door his mother came from behind and started hitting him on his head and kicking him. He managed to push them both out the door and his mom fell, they called the police and wanted him arrested. I believe that Chirstian is the victim here not his mom or sister
edna @ 07/22/2008 at 10:20 am
My father works security at the hotel, and he said it was a mess. His mom and sister wanted the front desk worker to let them into his room to wait for him. When they were told no they started cussing and yelling. they sat in front of his door for an hour until he finally arrived.
Sounds like he is in a tough situation. Hope he takes some time off to decompress.
Ive heard through the grapevine, a story his personnal trainer for the 1st batman movie had been telling.
Supposedly Bale was using anabolic/androgenic steroids to bulk up for that film.
He had recently finished “The Mechanic” and needed to add 20kg in a few months so its not suprising.
If was using them again for this role, this could be a case of roid rage, or even roid withdrawl.
I’m quite surprised by the almost universal willingness to excuse and/or sympathize with Bale’s bad behaviour.
As far as I am concerned, nothing makes me dislike a celebrity more than stories about their having tantrums and being rude to people around them.
I find celebs interesting (or I would not be reading this), but let’s be honest–they are entertainers. They get rich doing that, but it’s hardly the same as being a doctor or a teacher or a police officer; people who are truly heroic and making a difference in the lives of others.
So, yeah, they get money and fame, but the reality is they have limited social usefulness, and no right to giant egos and no excuses for treating others like dirt.
Bale better clean up his act, because a reputation as being difficult to work with can seriously hamper your career no matter how “big” you seem.
I can understand him getting furious if those hotel reports are true. I wouldn’t be so quick to judge this one, czarina.
Apropos to nothing – his facial hair looks green against the ruddy complexion. My PT has that goin on and it’s hard to concentrate on what he’s saying when all I’m thinking of is how lime-green his hair looks against his skin.
Also, to daisy – you have just given me a serious epiphany. 😯
I agree with gg, czarina–if he does have Amy Winehouse for a mother and a sister, and they’re sponging off him along with causing scenes like this–why don’t you ease up a little and think about things from his point of view? Of course, if he is charged with this verbal assault thing–every tabloid is going to start pulling stories out of their assholes about how mean he is, yadda yadda. Whatever. Tempest in a teacup sums it up pretty well. And daisy–I too have had an epiphany. Whoa… 😯
gg & Solitary Angel;good or bad?
he was in LA on July 19th
Actually, I was not thinking so much about Bale’s altercation with his mother and sister (I definately DO reserve judgment on that, because his mother and sister may very well be money-grubbing sponges, who knows?)
What I was talking about was the things I’ve been reading of his screaming tantrums on the set of different movies, and several posts by people who claim to have met him who said he was a real jerk.
That being said, I haven’t met him myself, so you are right gg, I should reserve judgement.
However, my post was less about just Bale, than about all these celebs who show such childish, egotistical behavior.
For such a rational population, we (in, say, North America), tend to want to believe the best about celebs–that if we met them we’d find them gracious and kind and considerate, etc. We WANT to believe (like Mulder!!) that celebs are not jerks who don’t deserve their adulation.
So, I think in that regard, at least, considering what they make and the life they are able to lead, it’s not too much to ask that they act like decent people towards others.
Truly, I have very little tolerance for anyone who thinks they can treat people badly because they have money, fame, power or whatever.
Daisy, that was brilliant! If you don’t mind, I will borrow that phrase for the rest of my life.
Can you be brought up on charges of verbal assault in the UK? There’s no way that mentality would fly here in the US, the home of the brave, indeed.
@Nan: The US actually does have that law. Home of the brave? Mneh. I’d rather live in the land of the free…healthcare.
ri23, where did you find that info? Interesting. Are you Canadian?
Help. Where is the law? I refuse to believe you can get arrested in the US for talking smack.
Nan, nope. I’m in the US. Yeah,I had to look it up online. Here…just a sec. “In some jurisdictions, including Australia and New Zealand assault refers to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, while in other jurisdictions, such as the United States, assault refers only to the threat of violence.”
Everyone makes a big deal out of the fact that it was his mother. If she was lashing out at his wife…then bad on her, not him. My mother-in-law has a history of being HORRID to me. She hates me…for nothing more complicated than: Her only child fell in love, got married, and moved away…and that’s my fault. She says nasty things about me and in FRONT of me all the time. My husband gets irritated and backs her down every time. If Bale’s mother was being a witch that day and Bale was in a bad mood and sick of hearing it…I can see how a perfectly decent and normal man could put a rough hand on her shoulder and push her away with a loud shout like “back off” or whatever. I love how it has automatically been reported as(in lots of the articles about it) “Bale being mean to his mom.” Whatever. We don’t know what happened, yet.
I agree with Joe — ever since that movie for which he got crazy skinny (and then had to bulk up again), Bale has had crazy eyes, overdeveloped muscles and that weird flat skin sheen that steroid users get.
I can see that his family may have been jerks, but ‘roids do not help keep the temper in check. Hopefully after Terminator he’ll pick a part where he doesn’t have to poison his body to “look good”.
Wait for more Bale is really a jerk and has ‘always’ had a bad temper stories. Suddenly everybody and their mama will have ‘stories.’
Not to mention the ‘I always thought he looked shifty and he has crazy eyes bullshit. 🙄
*Sigh* Welcome to fame.
Every time I read about this my first thought is always that he’s still in character – which character though, is anyone’s guess.
I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt because he’s always been low key and not prone to fits of pique onless it’s in a role.
I’d guess that there’s a strain on one of his close relationships somewhere along the line and that he’s feeling under extra pressure as a result. Playing lots of intense characters back to back and then promoting them heavily doesn’t help either, especially not when you’re as heavily method as he is.
He might want to take some time off or line up playing a happy-go-lucky character in something lite. I mean, Batman, and then John Connor? At least Cameron’s not directing the Terminator movie that would be superintense. (That said, why did they have to pick McG? Why?)
If an actor that can’t handle someone walking in the background isn’t really an actor. Screaming about someone in your eyeline is total amateur time.
Bale went off on this DP because no one could stop him, a total bullying move. What a piece of shit.
After listening to Christian Bale’s profanity-laced tirade posted on TMZ, I have decided that I will never watch another of his films, as he is an utter jerk.
I don’t care how tired, sleep-deprived, overworked, etc., you are, you do NOT have the right to go off on a person like Bale did when he chewed out the light guy. This isn’t the only time he’s showed his ugly self. I don’t care how talented he is, he should treat fellow human beings as he would want to be treated himself. Shame on him. Get some sleep fella…
CB was way out of line and obviously has an ego/anger problem. What a primadona! He should what out because next time whomever he berates might just lay him out – he deserves it.
The topic is quite trendy in the net right now. What do you pay attention to when choosing what to write ?