Academy Award-winning actor Russell Crowe has been slapped on the wrist.

Reuters reports that Crowe was fined $160 and given a warning after pleading guilty to reduced misdemeanour charges. Crowe admitted he used a telephone to assault Nestor Estrada, a hotel clerk.

The star of A Beautiful Mind and Gladiator was originally charged with a felony assault and criminal possession of a weapon and could have faced up to seven years in jail. Even with reduced charges, he could have spent a year locked up if convicted.

After he received the conditional discharge, Crowe kissed his wife Danielle Spencer, who he was trying to call with that infamous telephone, before leaving the court without speaking to reporters.

Crowe’s lawyer, Gerald Lefcourt, said that if the actor were arrested again in the coming year, he would face the original felony charges. “He is very happy to have this behind him,” said Lefcourt. ” He can now go on with his life.”

The incident took place in June at a posh SoHo hotel. When Estrada was unable to get through to Spencer in Australia, Crowe pulled the phone out of the wall and argued with Estrada before throwing the phone at him. The New Yorker magazine reported that Crowe got mad because Estrada told him “Whatever.”






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