Reality star and prolific Twitterer Tila Tequila, 27, was involved an altercation with what some outlets are reporting was/is her boyfriend, San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman, 25, late Saturday night/early Sunday morning. Tila was at a club in San Diego Saturday night partying with Merriman. There are photos of Tila dancing seductively on Merriman’s lap at the club, and TMZ reports that she “was seen giving Shawne lap dances all night long.” Tila went back to Shawne’s place and ended up calling the cops early in the morning, saying that he had choked her and was restraining her to keep her from leaving. She then signed a citizen’s arrest warrant that charged Merriman with battery and false imprisonment. (I thought people only did citizen’s arrests when the cops weren’t around, but apparently they can do this in CA if they’re a witness to a felony. It varies by state. Here is Wikipedia’s explanation of a citizen’s arrest.) Tila also went to the hospital at her own request and was treated and released. Merriman was arrest and placed in jail at 8:30 am, where he was held until 11:00 am. He claims through a lawyer that he didn’t choke Tila and was just trying to help her get home safely. Merriman’s side of the story is that Tila was really drunk and he was just trying to secure alternate transportaion for her so she wouldn’t drive home in that condition.
San Diego Chargers star outside linebacker Shawne Merriman was arrested Sunday and accused of choking and restraining his girlfriend, reality TV star Tila Tequila, as she tried to leave his suburban home.
Sheriff’s deputies got the call at 3:45 a.m. on Sunday from a woman who claimed to have been choked and thrown to the ground by the player at his home on Sagecrest Drive in Poway.
“Nguyen told deputies she had been choked and physically restrained by Merriman when she attempted to leave his residence,” San Diego County Sheriff’s spokesperson Jan Caldwell said.
Tequila, 27, signed a citizen’s arrest warrant, charging Merriman with battery and false imprisonment, San Diego County Sheriff’s Lt. Gary Steadman said.
Merriman, 25, was taken into custody and booked into the central jail at about 8:30 a.m. He was released shortly after 11 a.m. Caldwell said she didn’t know if he posted bail or was released on his own recognizance.
The linebacker’s lawyer talked briefly with reporters outside the San Diego County Jail downtown Sunday. He denied the allegations and claimed that Merriman and Nguyen were at a party at his Poway home with at least 14 other people.
“During the evening Ms. Tequila was extremely intoxicated, inebriated and Mr. Merriman did everything he could to assist her in arranging for transportation to leave his home. At no time did Mr. Merriman assault her; at no time did Mr. Merriman keep her against her will. His intentions were nothing but good,” Merriman’s attorney Todd Macaluso said.
Tequila requested an ambulance and was transported to Pomerado Hospital. She has since been released.
Caldwell said Sunday that deputies confirmed that Tequila had been drinking.
Tequila, whose real name is Tila Nguyen, is best known for “A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila,” which ran for two seasons on MTV. The bisexual dating show featured men and women vying for Tequila’s affections. She has also modeled for Playboy and other men’s magazines.
Scott E. Leemon, an attorney for Tequila, said in a statement that neither she nor her representatives would comment publicly on the incident.
[From NBC San Diego via WeSmirch]
Note in that source article, above, that Tila’s lawyer says neither his client nor he would be publicly commenting. Of course Tila had to say something about it on Twitter, though, and she defends herself by citing her height/weight/belief in God. I’m not saying she’s not telling the truth, it’s hard to tell at this point, but she’s certainly not keeping quiet about it as her lawyer said she would. Tila’s tweets are technically “protected,” but she has nearly a quarter of a million followers and it’s easy to find her status updates on outside websites like CelebrityTweet.com. Here’s what she said about the incident. (These tweets are in order from oldest to newest so that they make more sense. I find it hard to read tweets in the regular backwards order.)
Tila Tequila
I have just gotten back home safely to Los Angeles. Thank you for all of your love and prayers, and I appreciate everyone’s support….
Updated about 10 hours agoI am allergic to alcohol. It has been publicly known for years. That is how I got the name Tila “Tequila” cuz the irony. I cant drink.
Updated about 9 hours agoI am only 93 pounds and 4’ft 11……
Updated about 7 hours agoThank you #TilaArmy for all the love and support….I love you all…xox
Updated about 7 hours agoThe truth will set you free…..God is with me.
Updated about 4 hours ago
[From Tila Tequila’s twitter via Celebrity Tweet]
Yeah, Tila, we get it. It had to have gone down the way you’re claiming because you don’t drink and you’re very little. How come the cops are saying on the record that you were drunk, then? This woman could be telling the entire truth and she may have been victimized by this guy. But she should have taken her lawyer’s advice and shut up about it. As it is, she sounds defensive and that’s not helping her case. We’ll have to see what happens in court and if this goes any further.
Update: TMZ has Shawne Merriman’s full statement on the night in question. It’s very professional, to-the-point, and convincing. Tila was examined and released and no charges have been filed against him. He says, in part. “I in no way caused any harm to Ms. Nguyen, however, paramedics were called and she was examined but no injuries were reported. She was released and has since returned to Los Angeles, California…. There have been no charges filed against me.”
Tila Tequila is shown out on 7/18/09. Shawne Merriman is shown on 12/1/08. Credit: WENN.com
Hmm.. I don’t know what to believe, it all sounds so bizarre..
So this jock was concerned his maybe girlfriend was going to drive drunk. Nobody likes drunk driving, so naturally he choked and restrained her?? He probably didn’t have to restrain her; I’m pretty sure getting choked by someone three times your size would probably sober anyone up pretty quick. Who really thinks it’s logical to choke someone to stop them from driving? That’s so weird.
On the other hand, I’m genuinely surprised nobody has choked Tila Tequila before. She’s so damn annoying.
I would choke her for what she did to Depeche Mode’s “Blue Dress.”
WHo knows who to believe, she’s a reality show drama-magnet, he’s tested positive for steroids: they’re both losers.
Well I am sure it can all be proven if she has marks on her, and if someone is being battered and choked, there are bound to be bruises and marks to indicate that excessive force was used.
I have heard that she is known to lie about things due to a bipolar disorder.
Hopefully she is telling the truth, otherwise it is women like her who force people to be skeptical about battered women.
She is an attention whore, sorry won’t believe until more evidence is revealed.
She claims she bi-sexual but me thinks she just a whore who will get with anyone to get her name in the mews.
MySpace or was it FaceBook that was her ticket to fame.
“Her name is Tila Tequila.
The defense rests, your honor.”
@Maddie- It was MySpace, she was allegedly the first person to get 1 million friends on the site.
This is the most publicity she’s had in quite a while.
Didn’t she start a lie up on her twitter account (good Lord) earlier this year by saying she’s pregnant with Ray J’s baby and then some lie or insinuation about having an abortion? I don’t know why any man would deal with chicks like these. Well wait, I know why, but in that case it would be easier to just go to a hooker, pay, bounce and leave.
I’d want to choke the loud annoying tattooed pygmy midget dwarf too after the first 5 minutes of hearing her talk.
Tila honey, bit of advice- your t*ts should NEVER be bigger than you are tall.
Surely in some state it must be legal to choke that little neurotic hamster faced twit.
I can see this twit getting in over her head
BUT
NO man or woman should choke and restrain the other: unless it’s consensual of course!
@JustMe – I agree and I give my full consent to choke that little hamster faced twit
Another delusional skank deliberately over reacting to draw attention to it’s pathetic and desperate self.
No doubt she was higher than a kite and needed restraint -and that’s when she saw her grand opportunity to play victim.
she has a face like a frying pan and a head like a melon.
Evil Beet has posted her Tweets from two days ago and in one post, she claims to be drunk.
Allergic to alcohol.. yea right. She’s always lying to get attention. I bet she thought this would be huge after the chris/rihanna thing. I don’t buy it at all.
Hieronymous and VooDoo Betty, LOL @ your comments. I am in agreeance, I would choke the little chode too!
if this is yet another lie from her i will be beyond livid.
abuse is nothing to lie about. crap like her is why REAL abuse victims find it so hard to get help. abusers will take any defense “oh women lie about that all the time, just like tila!”
Ok, he even looks like a jerk. I am sure he was all pumped up on steroids and was a typical male athlete.. gross.. she should have known better.. He looks creepy
if you hook up with trash, you should expect the drama…both ways…
Note in all the news pieces she keeps harping on her allergic reaction to alcohol. Maybe Shawn used the wrong choice of words implying “impaired on alcohol”. If she was on drugs the impairment would have been the same thing – not technically “lying” if we’re playing the word-game, but she would be certainly be lying via omission or twisting of truth.