New details on the alleged assault by actor Emile Hirsch on a studio executive during the 2015 Sundance Film Festival emerged Thursday.
Daniele Bernfeld, an executive for the Paramount Pictures subsidiary Insurge Pictures, described the attack as being “insanely painful and absolutely terrifying,” according to public records obtained by The Associated Press.
The investigative documents reveal that Bernfield told police that Hirsch put her in a chokehold from behind, dragged her across a table and body slammed her to the floor. She said she was initially reluctant to pursue charges over the incident due to the “sensitive nature” of her work and Hirsch’s high profile, the reports stated.
“I am fundamentally not OK with what happened,” Bernfeld said the night of the incident. “It was insanely painful and absolutely terrifying.”
Park City, Utah, police responded to a 911 call at the Tao nightclub on Jan. 25 at approximately 4 a.m. When they arrived, Bernfeld described a physical altercation and accused a drunken Hirsch of putting her “in a chokehold.” Two bystanders pulled the actor off of the executive, whose neck and upper chest appeared bruised when police arrived.
Hirsch, 30, made his first court appearance in March to face charges of third-degree felony aggravated assault and misdemeanor intoxication, which carry a maximum five-year jail sentence and $5,000 fine, and a 90-day jail term and $750 fine, respectively.
His lawyer told TheWrap that he had “consumed an enormous amount of alcohol on the evening in question and he has no memory of what happened” on the night of the assault and he subsequently checked into rehab.
The “Into the Wild” actor was at Sundance promoting his latest film, “Ten Thousand Saints,” which co-stars Ethan Hawke, Asa Butterfield, Hailee Steinfeld and Emily Mortimer.