Judge Tosses Assault Case Against Dustin Lance Black

The assault case in London against out American screenwriter Dustin Lance Black has been tossed by Westminster Magistrates Court Judge Louisa Cieciora, who cited a lack of a "consistent" story from Black's accuser, People Magazine reported.

People Mag recalled that Black "was charged in April with allegedly assaulting BBC presenter and model Teddy Edwardes in an August 2022 incident," in which Edwardes claimed in a social media post that Black "threw an entire drink" on her and she responded with "a little tap on the head" – a "tap" that others characterized as her punching Black.

"I didn't have a drink to throw back so I did choose violence, but I wasn't that violent he got a little tap on the head," Edwardes posted. Her admission that she "did choose violence" was raised in the courtroom, to which "Edwardes suggested social media is 'not real life,'" Variety reported – "a statement the district judge said was "not persuasive,'" the magazine added.

Edwardes had also claimed that Black twisted her wrist, but she appeared to walk that back in court.

"She said in her evidence today she could not remember a wrist grab clearly," Variety quoted Cieciora as telling the court in her dismissal of the case. "I found that to be an odd statement given she had made public statements on social media and to the police this is what happened."

Moreover, the judge noted that "CCTV footage did not show Black pouring a drink over Edwardes, as she had claimed," Variety went on to add, with Cieciora adding "that the BBC presenter had lied to police about seeing the CCTV video before giving a statement."

In a social media statement posted in September 2022, Black made reference to having sustained "a serious head injury" the previous month, though he did not cite the incident with Edwardes or mention her.

"Black, who won an Oscar for best original screenplay for Gus Van Sant feature 'Milk' in 2008, was accompanied in court by his husband, the British Olympic diver Tom Daley, who had been due to give evidence before the case was thrown out," Variety noted.

Black released a statement in which he said, "I am pleased that the judge saw the truth today and ruled in my favor," before going on to add: "As the evidence has proven, and I have always maintained, I am completely innocent, and in fact was the victim in this case of a serious assault."

"I am relieved this unfortunate matter is now over," he said.

Black is the screenwriter or co-writer for a number of high-profile LGBTQ+ films and television projects, the most recent of which is "Rustin," the Netflix biopic of openly gay civil rights activist Bayard Rustin.