Actor Michael Pitt Accused of Sexual Abuse, Strangulation by Ex-Girlfriend
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
Actor Michael Pitt allegedly sexually assaulted his girlfriend and later attacked her with a cinderblock and a slab of wood, prosecutors said in an indictment announced Wednesday.
Pitt, 44, was arrested on Friday in Brooklyn and later charged with two counts of sexual abuse and related counts for four alleged incidents between April 2020 and August 2021, the indictment obtained by Newsweek shows.
In one alleged attack, all of which occurred at Pitt's Bushwick home, the "Boardwalk Empire" star strangled his then-girlfriend in August 2021, causing "stupor, loss of consciousness" or other injuries, according to the nine-count indictment.
Actor Michael Pitt at a screening for "Day of the Fight," a 2023 film he starred in alongside Steve Buscemi, in December in Los Angeles.
Actor Michael Pitt at a screening for "Day of the Fight," a 2023 film he starred in alongside Steve Buscemi, in December in Los Angeles.
Eric Charbonneau/KCFEOLA PR via Getty Images
Two months earlier, Pitt, also known for his roles in "The Dreamers" and "Funny Games," allegedly attacked his girlfriend with a cinderblock, the indictment shows.
Pitt is also accused of attacking the woman with a "four by four" piece of wood in August 2020 and forcibly touching her during another incident months earlier in April 2020, prosecutors said.
Read more
Who Is Michael Pitt: Everything to Know About the Talented, Troubled Actor
Who Is Michael Pitt: Everything to Know About the Talented, Troubled Actor
Pitt — who was charged with two counts of sexual abuse, two counts of second-degree attempted assault, first-degree criminal sex act, third-degree criminal sex act and second-degree strangulation — pleaded not guilty and was released from custody after posting $100,000 bail. He's due back in court on June 17, prosecutors said.
An attorney for Pitt said the actor and his former girlfriend, who was not identified, had been in a committed relationship during the alleged attacks.
"Unfortunately, we live in a world where somebody like Mr. Pitt — an accomplished professional who would never so much as contemplate these crimes — can be arrested on the uncorroborated word of an unhinged individual," attorney Jason Goldman told Newsweek in a statement.
"In reality, this baseless claim is suspiciously raised some four or five years after the alleged incident, at a time when the two parties were in a completely consensual and voluntary relationship. This case will be dismissed."
Pitt, 44, at the 77th annual Cannes Film Festival in May 2024 in Cannes, France.
Pitt, 44, at the 77th annual Cannes Film Festival in May 2024 in Cannes, France.
Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
Pitt's arrest marks the latest legal woes for the actor, who was charged with petty larceny and assault in July 2022 for allegedly hitting a man multiple times in the head and taking his phone during a dispute in Brooklyn.
Months later, in September 2022, Pitt was hospitalized following a "public outburst" in Brooklyn, where he allegedly threw objects at people from a rooftop. Police responded to the scene and took him into custody, but he wasn't charged, TMZ reported at the time.
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