A British assault case against Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black was dismissed by a judge after the trial began on Wednesday.
Judge Louisa Ciecióra of Westminster Magistrates’ Court ruled that there was conflicting and insufficient evidence that BBC3 presenter Teddy Edwardes was the victim of an attack in an altercation with Black at a Soho nightclub in August 2022.
The ruling, reported by the Chron, meant Black and his husband, Olympic diver Tom Daley, did not have to take the stand.
According to London’s Metropolitan Police, officers were called to the Freedom nightclub in London’s Soho district after midnight in August last year following reports of an “altercation” between a man in his 40s and a woman in her 30s in the bar. Black reportedly grabbed Edwardes by the wrist and spilled her drink, after which she allegedly hit him in the head while Daley looked on.
Black, who won the Oscar for best screenplay in 2008 for “Milk,” was charged with aggravated assault and pleaded not guilty in April. His lawyers said Edwardes’ hit caused a concussion.
The Chron said the verdict came after CCTV footage of the incident was played in court.
“I am pleased that the judge recognized the truth today and ruled in my favor,” Black said today after the dismissal. “As the evidence shows and as I have always maintained, I am completely innocent and was in fact the victim of a serious attack in this case. I am relieved that this unfortunate matter is now over.”