Ryan Phillippe is being sued by former girlfriend Elsie Hewitt, who claims the actor physically assaulted her. The actor has denied the allegations against him.
Hewitt filed the lawsuit Monday, claiming Phillippe kicked and punched her and threw her down the stairs. In the complaint, the 21-year-old model alleges the violent altercation occurred on July 4, after the two had left a party in Los Angeles.
According to the complaint, Hewitt claims Phillippe, 43, became jealous and angry because she was attracting attention from other men. As a result, Phillippe went home alone. Shortly after, Hewitt left the event with a friend and headed to Phillippe’s house to pick up a few of her belongings.
Once at the house, Phillippe was visibly angry and Hewitt recalled feeling scared as she tried to obtain her things, according to the complaint.
“He grabbed Hewitt’s upper arm so tightly that his grip left heavy bruises on her arm hours later. He then braced his body and violently threw her down his staircase as hard as he could,” the complaint reads.
Hewitt also reportedly claims Phillippe “struck her, cornered her, kicked her and aggressively pushed her to the ground” before picking her up “like a doll” and throwing her down the stairs a second time.
Hewitt and Phillippe were first seen together at Coachella in April.
Aside from the physical assault, Hewitt also claims she saw Phillippe use various legal and illegal drugs, including cocaine and ecstasy, on multiple occasions.
Following the alleged assault, the model was admitted to the emergency room at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. She was also granted an emergency protective order which expired July 12, the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed to People.
A representative for Phillippe told HuffPost, “The claims are false.”
“As a staunch advocate for the health, well-being and equality of women, Ryan is completely devastated that these false allegations have been made and circulated,” the rep said. “Domestic violence is an incredibly serious issue and fabricated and proven false claims should not be used to unjustly slander the falsely accused.”
A source close to the “Cruel Intentions” actor also told People, “Ryan did not lay a hand on her. He wants to clear all of this up and he will.”
The source also claims Hewitt “physically attacked Ryan” and has accused the Guess model of using this lawsuit as a means to seek fame.
Hewitt’s lawyer, Keith Fink, hit back at any such claims, telling HuffPost:
The only thing Phillippe’s PR statement has right is the fact that domestic violence is a serious issue. The claim that he assaulted her is false is laughable. She has photos of the serious cuts and bruises she suffered as a result of the assault. She has hospital records. The police took a report and issued a restraining order. Her employer Paul Marciano at Guess can confirm her injuries as can her friend who witnesses the assault. Add to this any man who calls a woman a c**t has serious animus towards women in general and would not be one championing the equality of women.
On Monday afternoon, Hewitt seemingly addressed the lawsuit with a post on Instagram.
“I’m a very private person but there are some tribulations I’ve been facing recently so I wanted to say thank u guys for your love, thank you to those who have been there for me, and thank you for those in my life who haven’t, for teaching me a good lesson,” she wrote alongside a black-and-white selfie.
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