During the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, Emile Hirsch had too much to drink. He was out partying with some bros at like 2 am, and he ended up getting into some kind of beef with a woman. Not just any woman either – the woman was Daniele Bernfeld, a studio executive. Most people claimed that Emile was trying to start something (a fight) with Bernfeld and she kept walking away from him and Emile’s friends kept trying to keep him away from her. But at some point, he jumped on her and put her in a chokehold and dragged her across a room. She blacked out. So… yeah, it was a pretty straight-forward case of assault. And now Hirsch has been charged. The details of the assault are chilling.
What happens in Park City sometimes reverberates in the Third District Court in Utah’s Summit County. Emile Hirsch has been formally charged with felony aggravated assault and misdemeanor intoxication for allegedly attacking a woman at Tao nightclub on Jan. 25, when 2015 Sundance Film Festival revelry had taken over the city.
The criminal complaint obtained Thursday by E! News alleges that Hirsch, while appearing to be drunk, grabbed at studio executive Daniele Bernfeld, calling her a “‘rich kid'” and asking her why she looked “‘so tough.'” She pushed him away and they each went off with separate groups of friends, the complaint continues. But that’s not where the evening ended, according to Bernfeld.
“Shortly thereafter Hirsch came up from behind Bernfeld and wrapped his arm around her to put her in a chokehold,” the allegations continue, per the court documents. “Hirsch pulled Bernfeld across the table and onto the floor, where he landed on top of her. While Hirsch was on top of Bernfeld he wrapped his hands around her neck. Bernfeld said she felt as though the front and back of her throat were touching and she remembers things going dark. Bernfeld reported that she may have momentarily blacked out.”
Bystanders pulled Hirsch off her, the complaint continues, and a witness corroborated Bernfeld’s story. A responding officer, Sgt. Jay Randall, is also noted as having observed “redness on her neck and upper chest.”
Hirsch told Randall, per the report, that he was having a “verbal confrontation” with Bernfeld; the actor also admitted to having “three to four alcoholic beverages” that night. The third-degree felony charge carries a maximum punishment of five years in a Utah state prison and a $5,000 fine, while the class C misdemeanor is punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a $750 fine. A court date has been set for March 16.
The details make me so uncomfortable. Hirsch had been drinking, obviously, but there seems to be an undercurrent of predatory behavior too, like he was looking for a woman to victimize. The idea that this little douchebag would jump on a woman and begin choking her… it’s profoundly disturbing.
Anyway, Emile’s people are blaming it all on the alcohol. TMZ got a statement from Hirsch’s rep, who said: “Emile consumed an enormous amount of alcohol on the evening in question and he has no memory of what happened…Emile takes these allegations very seriously, and is devastated that any of this has occurred. A few days after the incident, Emile sought help and checked himself into an alcohol rehabilitation facility, where he remains today, to ensure nothing like this ever happens again.” Whatever, dude. I hope he goes to jail. And I’m glad they charged him with felony assault.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.
Small man, Big as&hole.
My mind went to the wrong place, mia girl.
is it a quite big place where the sum shines questionably? because i think i went there too.
i might still be there, am not sure.
lol deb, how bout now?
Thats sounds like Kim and Kanye…
Ha! Maybe I didn’t phrase that properly, mimif & deb
Emile Hirsch is a small man who IS a big as8hole.
Although, I can’t say for certain that he doesn’t have a big as8hole because lord knows, his head seems to reside there.
This guy is such a wad. I wonder if he picked up his moves early on working with Sean Penn.
Chris Brown territory ….
This actor needs to go to JAIL….end of.
I hate to think what would have happened if people weren’t around.
Quote: “Bernfeld …..he wrapped his hands around her neck. Bernfeld said she felt as though the front and back of her throat were touching and she remembers things going dark. Bernfeld reported that she may have momentarily blacked out.” Celebitchy article—-
He could have KILLED this woman. Send his ass to JAIL.
This. Getting sh*tfaced does not make you almost kill a woman. In a public place. In front of tons of witnesses. The guy has a screw loose.
There are tons cowardly men that go around picking on women because they are cowards and gives their pencil d*ck a chubby. Lock him up and throw away the key.
You chose to drink. You are responsible for your actions. Period.
I don’t really think alcohol makes you a different person. I think they way you act when you’re drunk is another facet of your personality. So if you’re a violent drunk, there’s something in you that you manage to control (maybe) when you’re sober, but can’t control when you’re inebriated.
I don’t think he drank just alcohol, he was obviously out of his mind and not sane. He might have killed her if there weren’t other people.
I agree.
Exactly, he may have killed her if no one was there to stop him.
The poor woman said her throat back and front were touching, this dude was squeezing her throat to kill her.
She should charge him with Attempted Murder.
Violent A–hole.
EXACTLY this. Alcohol is a disinhibitor of behavior. If one has ugliness inside but normally has the common sense to keep it hidden, that ugliness may very well be let loose on an unsuspecting world when alcohol is involved.
i agree. When I’ve had too much to drink, I want to dance, not get violent.
Rachel, you are so right. I have a few friends who are alcoholics who, unfortunately, are not sober. None of them would ever behave like this, no matter how much alcohol they consumed.
I pretty much agree that most people won’t do drunk what they won’t at least think about sober. But I did have an uncle who was the sweetest, friendliest person — and apparently became completely crazed when drunk. Fortunately, my uncle wasn’t an alcoholic, so it was apparently a pretty rare event. At a young age, he made a choice just to not drink at all, and it was never an issue throughout the rest of his life. But I think there are a lot of people who wouldn’t have that level of self-awareness or self-control.
@Malificent
My Physical Science teacher scared the bejesus out of our entire class….he had a lesson entitled “Life Chemistry”….basically it was to talk about the effects of drinking, and about how not to get peer pressured into drinking when we got to college. He said that he decided to wait until he was legal to drink (lol)…..but what made him swear off of alcohol all together was two things. One–he had a relative who would ALWAYS get drunk every time they came to visit. So he’d never really be able to visit his relative, because dude was always drunk as a skunk. And his favorite hobby included going to the bar.
Two–his boss was a MEAN drunk. Outside of alcohol, he was the nicest, sweetest guy in the world. Very generous, always willing to help someone out, if he could, for no charge. Well, he liked to get his drink on. And he liked to get his drink on ALL NIGHT. Like, not go to work the next morning. And one morning, my teacher saw his boss’s girlfriend try and pull him into work (they all worked on college campus), and he didn’t want to go–so he pushed, then turned around and kicked her so hard in the stomach that she had to get surgery, so that biological children would be an option for her. After that, he swore off alcohol
Agree totally Rachel.
Not out of his mind, just an asshole with an inflated ego and a sense of entitlement. He probably thought he could assault her with total impunity (and apparently his lawyers think so too). Even moderately successful Hollywood actors are needy, narcissistic little shitheads who think the world revolves around them and get really, REALLY angry when they find out it doesn’t.
Bets that SHE is the one who suffers fallout in her career for daring to press charges against an actor who assaulted her. That’s another Hollywood given: women are supposed to take the shit and shut up.
En vino veritas!
You mean – the truth that Hirsch is a disgusting little violent twat?
That report is scary to read and it really sounds like he wanted to go after this woman. Are Utah courts any different to California courts, which genuflect to celebrities over and over again? I hope not and that he goes to jail for this attack.
I guess I could hope that at least Utah judges will look askance at the alcohol abuse involved in this story, as well as the idea that the drinking somehow makes him less responsible. This guy seriously deserves jail time. That story is really disturbing.
I mean, he almost killed her right? He almost broke her neck. He sounds like a lunatic and should be put in jail for assault.
And there were people who pulled him off of her – what if they had been alone?
I just hate how cutesy they tried to make it… With the “What happens in Park City…” opening. This isn’t a fun, drunken story in Vegas and that opening is in poor taste. Full stop.
I know, it offended me too.
Agreed!!!!!!!!
“Emile takes these allegations very seriously, and is devastated that any of this has occurred” – oh really? He is just devasted that he has to face consequences. Now he is trying to safe his career.
Your are what you are – alcohol might help to bring it up to light, but I just refuse to believe that it turns you into someone you are not. If you have no anger or violence in you, it won’t come out when you drink.
“Your are what you are – alcohol might help to bring it up to light, but I just refuse to believe that it turns you into someone you are not. If you have no anger or violence in you, it won’t come out when you drink. ”
so well said. any of these idiots who use “well, I was drinking” as an excuse to pardon their violence, their misogyny, their racism, etc…I also call BS. no matter how drunk I’ve been, I’ve never gotten violent or uttered any racial slurs…because I’m NOT violent and I’m NOT a racist. I may turn into the BEST DANCER EVAH! but that’s about it.
LMAO! Drunk dance party!!
Hahaha… but that is because you’re the best dancer anyway – alcohol just helps you to get over the shyness to show it 😉
I completely agree that alcohol should not be a mitigating factor in your responsibility – you chose to get trashed. But I’m not sure about the rest of your statement. My ex husband was an alcoholic, and he started to become aggressive and violent if he drank to an extreme degree for him. (He drank to an extreme degree for a normal person every day.) I don’t believe he was a violent person. I think when he was that intoxicated, he became confused and something dark happened in his mind that changed his normal behavior. But I can’t prove that, of course, and you may be right.
I don’t think that’s really true either.
When I used to get drunk I started lying and making up stories for some reason. Like I know what I would say wasn’t true but I still did it for some reason. Not really anything serious but more of small things or opinions etc.
That’s why I’ve always found it weird how so many people insist that people are at their most honest when they are drunk when I know I and some of my friends at least are different. If I’m drunk and say I hate someone it doesn’t mean I hate the person and just wouldn’t say it when sober, it might be that I actually like the person even when drunk, just think it would be funny to say I hate them when I’m drunk.
I don’t really drink anymore since I know I can’t really control my mouth when I do so… I just say whatever pops into my mind.
That;s my problem with alcohol too, Cici. Can’t walk properly, can’t talk properly, and your mouth says the stupidest things!.
Monster, I wish I’d kept scrolling before I posted upstream. I feel the exact same way.
Lock him up, please Utah! Interesting how in a club full of people he picked on a woman (and from pictures I saw, very small one). A woman he didn’t even know! I won’t support any project this guy is in. Period. Come back in five years sober and having not assaulted anyone and we will see but this cannot be brushed aside.
I just googled the exec, and she’s VERY pretty, in a normal, non Hollywood way. Ten bucks says he thought she was a “normal” person, hit on her (expecting her to be flattered that this “movie star” found her hot), and when she said BYE FELICIA, he got pissed.
While I am of course sorry this happened to her, the fact that she’s a woman in a position of at least a little power in Hollywodd satisfies beyond belief. A “civilian” could be understandably more intimidated/offered money. But her? She probably makes as much as him these days (how’s that Speed Racer money holding up). I really hope she is supported.
He’s another one who seems to have believed his own hype without noticing the actors in his age range (at least ten I could name off the top of my head) who are as or far more successful, have franchises or pending sequels, and who could play everything he does as well or better! He’s not needed and should have learned some humility!
@Virgilia, you right! http://laist.com/2015/02/12/emile_hirsch_sundance_assault.php
Wtf?!!!! Who is this little f*cker anyway?!
I know! I even looked up his IMDB page… and I have never seen anything he has been in. Maybe he is a thing with folks in their 20’s. But I could not pick him out of a line up, to save my life.
+1
I f—— HATE when people use the alcohol excuse! Alcohol only releases what is already in you. If you are a violent drunk then you are a violent person.
I agree. I loathe alcohol, but an as*hole is an as*hole sober or not.
I like alcohol. In moderation. Not on a regular basis. It doesn’t make me try and choke people. It’s not the alcohol that’s the problem, it’s the person that drinks it.
Darn. He was one of my crushes. Though of course I want to know, I hate finding out how insane actors can be in real life. This incident sounds terrifying!
I hope he goes to jail and doesn’t just get a slap on the wrist. I’ve heard that he is a pill to work with and a real a**hole all the time, not just drunk.
He could have killed her or caused brain damage. He should go to jail. Being drunk is no excuse.
Not to mention the trauma and anguish that she likely experienced from being assaulted like that in front of a group of people, although I am glad that there were witnesses because they likely saved her from further harm. I do hope that he goes to jail.
yeah, doesn’t sound like “assault” to me. sounds more like attempted murder. especially as the story says that he had to be pulled off of her. he didn’t stop on his own and likely wouldn’t have.
Choking is something you do if you intend to inflict major damage on another person. In domestically violent relationships choking is a giant, blaring red flag (even if it’s the only incident) because it’s such a violent, controlling act. That Emile did this, no matter how drunk, speaks volumes about him.
That’s terrifying. I didn’t really how brutal he was from the initial reports, just that there was a question of whether or not charges would be field. Reading this, I am SOOO glad he is being prosecuted.
I hope she’s OK and doesn’t have any lasting physical injuries from this.
Yeah, I’m kinda surprised at such low charges being leveled. There are a lot of places you can hurt a person and have zero intent to kill (still a crappy & violent thing to do, but not lethal) – but the neck? You throttle a person, especially from behind and you are dancing in the land of murder. It takes a shockingly small amount of pressure to incapacitate someone, and hang on for just a few seconds too long and you first can, if not kill, then cause irreversible brain damage. The wrong place grabbed, the wrong angle shaken, and the poor woman is dead with no chance of recovery. Most parts of your body CAN manage for a small amount of time without oxygen and blood. Not long, and it’s not doing you any favors but the brain? Even a small disruption can cause permanent damage and terminal outcomes. It’s why the times I’ve taken classes to work security it’s always told to be a last ditch, you yourself are about to die action to take. He came at her from behind, took her to the floor, choked her into unconsciousness, in PUBLIC no less (so zero concern about being stopped which takes it into even creepier territory – the little prince apparently didn’t think anyone would try and make him stop)…
sounds pretty much like attempted murder to me. Attempted manslaughter at the very least. Booze doesn’t cause someone to do that. Being a sick twisted psychotic self important POS causes that. And am I missing something or did he not even attempt to apologize in the statement to the person he, oh, I don’t know ATTACKED? Just makes his run to rehab sound even more like a whining ‘it’s not my fault, I didn’t do it, the booze/devil made me do it, I’m a victim here’ bit of frantic butt-covering in hopes he can wiggle out of jail time.
Gee… I’m in a grouchy mood today!
Agreed. And as someone said last time this story came up, if he did this in public, imagine what his behavior is like in private.
Yup, send him to jail.
He could have seriously hurt this woman permanently.
I agree, this is such a serious act of violence. I have heard that while a lot of people think you die from strangulation due to lack of oxygen, it is really more as a result of a lack of blood to the brain. Her blacking out shows that he cut off the blood flow to her brain.
I hope he does serious jail time. I hope he doesn’t get hired again for a very long time.
He won’t go to jail, he’ll give a weepy interview to People and Ellen and everyone will want to give him a second chance while his victim will be called a bitch for provoking him. Sean Penn thought him well.
He’s in Chris Brown territory he should go to JAIL.
Why would Ellen have him on though? He’s not remotely a mainstream success. It would be different if he was a Marvel/DC or Star Wars movie actor but if he went on an apology tour it would be the first time a lot of the public knew him. Not a great introduction. My guess? No jail and he’ll still work in small indies. My one positive thought? Working in bigger stuff and big success is probably off the table for him.
“and is devastated that any of this has occurred”
why do all of the “apologies”/explanations sound like the perp had NO involvement in the incident and that it just “happened” or “occurred”?…
how about taking some responsibility and saying that he’s devastated that he drank to the point that he did something so stupid and hurt someone?
he’s not going to jail, though he should. and she should sue him for PTSD or “pain and suffering”. if he’s not going to be locked up, hit him in the wallet. THAT is something people seem to understand.
I know right?! It sounds as if some magical force wrapped his hands around the womans neck. He has grade A psycho face. That blank look is not a good omen.
And his apology reads like he just slapped or pushed her (which is still bad, but is more indicative of a temper tantrum from a whiny little boy) NOT strangled her.
I can totally agree with this. I’m a recovering alcoholic and a lot of these comments are much too simplistic. However, I’m so in agreement with your take that he has to take responsibility and own what he did.
THANK. YOU.
I have been drunk MANY times and have never assaulted anyone. He’s using booze to cover for his real (violent) behavior.
Most states would consider what he did to be Attempted Murder by Strangulation.
I wondered about this, and I agree it’s more attempted murder than assault.
I said the same thing above.
he didn’t stop strangulating her, he had to be stopped. he had to be pulled off of her. which means, he likely wouldn’t have stopped had it just been the two of them, in a more private setting.
if he gets off with just a slap on the wrist, it’ll be just a matter of time before he does this to some unknown (non-celeb) woman, or a prostitute, and winds up killing her.
Even if he has an alcohol problem (and I don’t doubt that) isn’t part of the recovery process taking responsibility for your actions and making amends? He needs to face the consequences of what he did. It sounds like he spent a decent amount of time trying to antagonize her and harassing her. I have a hard time believing that alcohol is totally to blame. Sounds more like a case of just hating her and using some “liquid courage” as an excuse.
Yes. The recovery process is all about owning what you did under the influence of alcohol. It’s not about minimizing the effect on you, and pointing the finger at the bottle. It’s about accepting what YOU did and why you did it.
Gross. Absolutely disgusting. Violent entitled asshole. Scary.
woaw. i thought it was a typical shoving among drunk people which would be bad enough considering she is smaller than him and an executive. holy hell, that sounds more like trying to kill someone.
oh and please stop using alcohol as an excuse. its even worse that you can not drink responsible. i love a good cocktail or shots of tequila but all of that is constantly ruined by people showing their true colors when they are drunk.
Blame it on the Goose, got you feeling loose
Blame it on the ‘Tron, got you in the zone
Blame it on the al al al al al al cohol….
In all seriousness though, fuck this little twat.
How do 4 or 5 drinks make you all of a sudden want to rage choke someone??? Maybe he is an angry drunk, I don’t know.
Who knows, I think he probably tried to push up on her, got rejected and blacked out. It wouldn’t be the first time something like this happens. Alot of men react badly to being told no. And the fact that he choked her to the point of unconsciousness is terrifying.
I hope they throw the book at this twerp. Dude needs some anger management stat.
So it’s alcohol’s fault then? He is just a gentleman otherwise! Please. Get sober, go to jail for a while and some therapy to learn how to treat people, specially women with respect. Rehab works only if HE want to change, not just as an excuse to escape charges and jail time. Hope she won’t back out and see to it that he learns a lesson.
This sounds about right on the charges. BYE!
I highly doubt this is the first time he’s attacked a woman. I wouldn’t be surprised if he has a DV history.
If he were a black entertainer, he’d be in a UTAH holding cell already.
Send this assh-le to jail please….and destroy his name in the process.
He’s in Chris Brown territory.
Send This dude to Jail.
This!
He’ll go to rehab and he’ll get probation.
I dunno Fingerbinger…he choked someone out in public with many witnesses. He’s got a good shot at jail time. I’m pretty sure Fist Brown didn’t go to jail because no witnesses and he always claimed he struck Rhianna in self defense.
I think this is his first offense. He’s claiming he was drunk and blacked out. On top of that he’s a celebrity. I’d be surprised if this case sees the inside of a courtroom. I could be wrong.
It’s Utah. I’m doubtful the prosecutor will accept a plea bargain with no jail time.
This psycho needs to get into an orange onesie pronto. What a nightmare for that woman. My god, some people are so grand in their own minds! Disgusting person.
I hope his career is over.
I think his career is finished.
I am sure his career is finished.
He never really had a career to begin with. He’s one of Lindsay Lohan’s old cokehead buddies. Maybe she can visit him in jail.
Violent, nasty piece of work. He could’ve just as easily gotten into a bar fight with another angry, drunk man and then just punched each other until they got tired.
Also, if you mess with a studio executive, that should mean something in the hierarchy that is Hollyweird, even if she is female. I’d be curious to see how this plays out (because his career should be flushed now, by all rights)
That is terrifying, he is going to kill someone someday if they don’t lock him up.
I’ve consumed three to four drinks in the course of an evening without feeling the desire to violently assault someone. I call BS. The guy has serious problems, obviously.
That this even happened is disgusting and horrific. How could it be that this is the first time this guy has acted in this manner? I find myself grateful to Daniele for standing up for herself and cooperating with prosecution so that this kind of criminal can be brought to justice, and denounced publicly for his revolting actions. I bet there is pressure within the industry to keep the hogs happy and it takes courage to do what is right. Thank you, Daniele, and best wishes for a full recovery.
I do believe he’s “completelly devastated”, after all, R.I.P. Hirsch’s career.
This guy is the spitting image of my ex (who coincidentally is also a flaming a$$hole, although not an abusive one), so his image has always made me slightly stabby…but now, I can’t even look at him. What a trash can.
@Cankles…OMG, you have an asshole Emile Hirsch lookalike ex too? Trippy! o_O
I can’t wait to see his acting career go down the can. Violence against anyone, especially a woman, should never be tolerated. And I really hope his ex keeps their kid far, far away from this toolbox.
Send him to jail and since he decided to go with the alcohol excuse, make it a condition of his parole/release that he not drink anymore and make him wear a alcohol monitoring ankle bracelet. If you seriously believe that alcohol caused your client to choke out a woman, then ensure the public/courts that your client will never touch the stuff again because we really can’t have you drinking if it turns you into a choker.
Isn’t this the coke-head douche that used to be a regular member of Lindsay Lohan’s posse? Or perhaps he still is? I vaguely remember some messy stories about them being out together, involving dart-playing at a bar, etc. I could be wrong, but I think it was him. He’s always been a LOSER, we just didn’t know he was a violent one.
Yup, one quick google search and there they are. “Lindsay Lohan Parties With Emile Hirsch On Her First Night After House Arrest.”
http://www.laineygossip.com/Lindsay-Lohan-goes-clubbing-hours-after-house-arrest-release-30jun11/20586?celebrityId=20246
Good luck with your career asshole cause your going to need it after this. You have a child now you immature spoiled abusive brat. If I were the mother of his child I wouldn’t allow him to see his child without supervision.
I don’t know who this guy is, but there’s something wrong with someone who gets s—faced and then attacks a woman for no reason whatsoever. And if he has a kid, like I’m reading, that’s even scarier.