In late January, we reported that actor Emile Hirsch (Girl Next Door, Into The Wild) had allegedly gotten drunk at a Sundance party in a Utah bar and attacked Paramount executive Dani Bernfeld. The story was that Hirsch had been “aggressively picking on” her for a while, until he got “even more aggressive,” put her in a chokehold, and dragged her across a table. Someone called the police and Hirsch reportedly talked with them for several hours, but he was not arrested.
Now, according to TMZ, Hirsch has been formally charged with 3rd degree felony assault, which comes with a maximum penalty of five years in prison. TMZ also got the police to fill in some more details about whatever happened in the bar, and it doesn’t sound too good for Hirsch. The cops say Hirsch “appeared intoxicated” and asked Bernfeld why she looked “so tough,” and then referred to her as a “rich kid” who shouldn’t be at Sundance. Hirsch then—allegedly—grabbed her, so she pushed him away and sat with some friends. A few moments later, Hirsch came back, “pulled her across the table and onto the floor,” jumped on top of her, and then began choking her. She says she felt like “the front and back of her throat were touching and she remembers things going dark.” When the cops arrived, they found red marks on Bernfeld’s neck and chest, corroborating her story. Hirsch, however, said they were merely having “a verbal confrontation,” though the cops reportedly noticed that he did appear to be drunk.
TMZ says Hirsch is due in court on March 16.