More trouble for Arnie - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Strange Famous · 04-03-2004, 02:26 PM

Regardless of his politics, and whether or not he said he admired Hitler, I really cant shake the idea that a man who seems to be virtually incapable of groping every woman he meets really isnt fit for public office.

And yes, I think it does matter - because if someone is the sort of person who treats other people like this, basically like they are just sexual objects, I dont think he can have the sympathy and understanding of other people necessary for public service.

Quote:

When Anna met Arnie: Why a British TV presenter is suing the Governor of California
By Robert Verkaik, Legal Affairs Correspondent<
03 April 2004

After vanquishing killer cyborgs and medieval warriors on screen, California's film-star governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, is set to face his own judgement day in an English court.

Mr Schwarzenegger, 57, will be forced to defend allegations that he made unwelcome advances towards several women including the British television presenter Anna Richardson. She is expected to file a £100,000 libel suit next week.

Ms Richardson alleges that during a pre-recorded television interview with the actor he pulled her on to his knee and squeezed her nipple.

When Mr Schwarzenegger, who starred in three Terminator films, was first confronted with the allegation he is said to have claimed that Ms Richardson had encouraged this behaviour.

The legal action will centre on whether Mr Schwarzenegger or his team have damaged Ms Richardson's reputation as a professional interviewer by presenting her as someone who uses sex as part of her interview technique. Negotiations between the two sides have broken down and the case is expected to be set for trial later this year.

As British court cases go, it could be the most high-profile yet, eclipsing the recent privacy battle of Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones againstHello! magazine. The couple won their High Court encounter but at a cost of £1m in legal fees and a lot of bad publicity.

Other women allegedly groped by Mr Schwarzenegger are also expected to give evidence in court.

Six women who have met Mr Schwarzenegger since the 1970s have made similar allegations that were reported by the Los Angeles Times in the run-up to the gubernatorial election in California. A further 10 are being investigated. Ms Richardson's claim is thought to be the most recent and stems from an interview with the actor for an LWT film show, The Big Screen, in London in December 2000.

In Ms Richardson's original interview with The Sun about the alleged groping incident, she said: "He kept saying how fantastic I looked and staring at my boobs. When I went to shake his hand he pulled me on to his knee, saying, 'I really want to know if your breasts are real'. I told him they are an F-cup. Before I knew what was happening he circled my nipple with his finger and gave it a squeeze. He then said, 'Yeah, they are real.' I stood up and said, 'You're making me nervous'. He told me not to be nervous and pulled me back on his knee. I said, 'Can I go, please?' He said, 'Yeah', and patted my bum as I went off."

Last year, Mr Schwarzenegger, a former bodybuilder who has made millions of dollars from Hollywood blockbuster movies, said of the allegations: "A lot of what you hear in those stories is not true. But as I've always said: 'Where there's smoke, there's fire.'"

And in what was widely interpreted as an attempt to limit the damage to his election bid for the California governorship, he apologised for having "behaved badly" toward women. "I apologise because that's not what I try to do."

His campaign managers denied that any of this included Ms Richardson. Yesterday the actor was reported to have agreed to undergo training on how to avoid sexual harassment. But he insisted that his senior staff joined him for the lessons.

Ms Richardson, 32, has hired the libel lawyer Graham Atkins, a partner at the London defamation specialists Campbell Hooper, to fight her case. The California Governor has retained Lavely and Singer, to defend the action but is yet to instruct a firm to represent him in this country.

Mr Schwarzenegger is no stranger to high-profile legal actions. He recently launched a £12m lawsuit against an Ohio car dealership for using a postage stamp-sized photo of him in their promotions.

In 1999 his lawyers announced that he had settled a $50m (£27m) lawsuit against the US newspaper The Globe, after an article was published which he claimed was malicious, false and defamatory. The Globe claimed that Mr Schwarzenegger was in the midst of a "heart crisis" and was a "ticking time bomb." The article was published more than 16 months after his successful heart surgery, when he was in excellent health.

More recently Mr Schwarzenegger has discovered what it is like to be on the other end of a lawsuit. Last year he had to defend libel proceedings brought by a Hollywood stuntwoman. Rhonda Miller claims she was sexually harassed by Mr Schwarzenegger, and filed a lawsuit alleging defamation by the Governor and his campaign staff. The day before Mr Schwarzenegger was elected as California's Governor, Ms Miller spoke at a news conference alleging "outrageous acts" of sexual harassment.

The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, repeats that claim and says his campaign team spread lies that she was a convicted felon.

"Miss Miller has never been arrested in her life. She's never been convicted of anything," said her attorney, Paul Hoffman. Miss Miller says Schwarzenegger pulled up her T-shirt and photographed her breasts and touched them even as she fought with him and yelled at him to stop.

In response, Mr Schwarzenegger issued a statement in which he acknowledged making crude comments but denied taking Ms Miller's picture or even being in the trailer. As his website, Schwarzenegger.com, says: "It's never been boring being Arnold Schwarzenegger."

If he loses his case in the High Court in London it could also be very costly.

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/leg...p?story=507884

skier · 04-03-2004, 02:45 PM

Arnold Shwartznegger the action hero actor and Arnold Shwartzenegger the politician are two very different personas- there are different expectations of his moral/ethical character being an actor than a politician. These women did not sue this man when he was an actor- and they had a lot of time to do so- but when he became a governor all the sudden the rules changed and things he did as an actor that were acceptable, now become questionable actions and these women are taking advantage of that.

Strange Famous · 04-03-2004, 02:47 PM

Maybe it makes the hurt they feel burn even deeper when they see the man who did this to them (allegedly) standing up there and claiming to be a moral leader?

Rodney · 04-03-2004, 02:50 PM

Everything said about Arnie and his proclivity for coming on too strong for women may be true, and I don't excuse it. But with all sincerity and cynicism, I have to say that he's actually a cut above many of the sleazy "movers and shakers" in California politics. That's not an excuse for Arnold, it's an indictment of California politics. As it is, Ahnuld seems to be able to deal with the sleaze on their level and cajole/threaten/bribe them into compromises that they wouldn't give to the last governor (who was a particularly unsavory mix of sleaze and self-righteousness).

Arnold. We got him. We deserve him.

Strange Famous · 04-03-2004, 03:14 PM

And you could have had Mariah!!

04-03-2004, 02:45 PM	#2 (permalink)
skier Rawr! Location: Edmontania	Arnold Shwartznegger the action hero actor and Arnold Shwartzenegger the politician are two very different personas- there are different expectations of his moral/ethical character being an actor than a politician. These women did not sue this man when he was an actor- and they had a lot of time to do so- but when he became a governor all the sudden the rules changed and things he did as an actor that were acceptable, now become questionable actions and these women are taking advantage of that. __________________ "Asking a bomb squad if an old bomb is still "real" is not the best thing to do if you want to save it." - denim

04-03-2004, 02:47 PM	#3 (permalink)
Strange Famous follower of the child's crusade?	Maybe it makes the hurt they feel burn even deeper when they see the man who did this to them (allegedly) standing up there and claiming to be a moral leader? __________________ "Do not tell lies, and do not do what you hate, for all things are plain in the sight of Heaven. For nothing hidden will not become manifest, and nothing covered will remain without being uncovered." The Gospel of Thomas

04-03-2004, 03:14 PM	#5 (permalink)
Strange Famous follower of the child's crusade?	And you could have had Mariah!! __________________ "Do not tell lies, and do not do what you hate, for all things are plain in the sight of Heaven. For nothing hidden will not become manifest, and nothing covered will remain without being uncovered." The Gospel of Thomas

04-03-2004, 02:50 PM	#4 (permalink)
Rodney Observant Ruminant Location: Rich Wannabe Hippie Town	Everything said about Arnie and his proclivity for coming on too strong for women may be true, and I don't excuse it. But with all sincerity and cynicism, I have to say that he's actually a cut above many of the sleazy "movers and shakers" in California politics. That's not an excuse for Arnold, it's an indictment of California politics. As it is, Ahnuld seems to be able to deal with the sleaze on their level and cajole/threaten/bribe them into compromises that they wouldn't give to the last governor (who was a particularly unsavory mix of sleaze and self-righteousness). Arnold. We got him. We deserve him.