"Psy"-Crowe: A Contender in Cuffs

(New York) Actor Russell Crowe was arrested and charged with assault and criminal possession of a weapon in New York on Monday after throwing a telephone at a hotel employee.

The Oscar-winner, 41, who was in New York to promote his new movie "Cinderella Man," got into an argument with the unidentified Mercer Hotel employee at around 4:20 a.m. Crowe was upset because he couldn't get a line out of the hotel to call his wife actress Danielle Spencer in Australia, according to police.

The injured employee was taken to St. Vincent's Hospital, where he received stitches to treat a laceration to his face.

Crowe, who plays a boxer in "Cinderella Man," later released on his own recognizance after being taken in handcuffs to his arraignment at Manhattan Criminal Court.

Robin Baum, Crowe's publicist, said he had thrown the phone at a wall and did not assault anyone.

"After asking the front desk several times to replace a faulty phone in his room — and getting only attitude from the clerk on duty — Crowe brought the phone down to the front desk in an effort to address the situation in person. Words were exchanged, and Crowe wound up throwing the phone against the wall. He regrets that he lost his temper, but at no time did he assault anyone or touch any hotel employee," Robin Baum said in a statement. More...