Updated
A trial on the Gold Coast has heard a stripper allegedly glassed Neighbours star Scott McGregor in response to a «foul-mouthed tirade» from the actor.
Key points:
- Danielle Lee is accused of throwing a glass at actor Scott McGregor which cut his lip
- She told the court the Neighbours star swore at her when she approached him and he refused her request to leave the Gold Coast club
- She has pleaded not guilty and lost her job at Hollywood Showgirls following the incident
Danielle Lee has pleaded not guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm after allegedly throwing a glass at Mr McGregor, which cut his lip, at Hollywood Showgirls in April.
Ms Lee wiped away tears in the Southport Magistrates Court as she gave evidence, describing Mr McGregor’s behaviour as «aggressive» when she approached him in the club.
«I had no idea who he was, anyone can walk in there and I just talk to everyone,» she said.
«He was quite rude, his tone — it just shot back at me quickly.»
Ms Lee told the court she told Mr McGregor not to be rude and he became abusive.
«He called me a dirty s***, he said f*** off you dirty s***,» she said.
«Just the way he was looking at me, like he was looking down.
«He said ‘I would never take you’.»
The court heard Ms Lee asked Mr McGregor to leave the club and he continued to call her names.
She said she picked up the glass as she walked away.
«It was the last straw for me, I asked him to leave and he kept abusing me,» she said.
«My intention was to throw the ice as a statement as me just wanting to leave, not to hurt him.»
Ms Lee said she had been working at Hollywood Showgirls for about four years and lost her job as a result of the incident.
When questioned by prosecutor Teneka Hill about why she did not keep walking away from Mr McGregor or call security, Ms Lee said she did not have support.
«Security wasn’t there,» she said.
«Honestly management is really bad in that club, there is no one to talk to.
«I had no help, security guards aren’t there, management aren’t there.»
In closing arguments, Ms Lee’s defence barrister David Funch told the court that «men cannot expect to call women s**** and not expect a response».
Mr Funch called into question Mr McGregor’s reliability and credibility, saying the actor responded with «I can’t recall» on at least 20 occasions when he testified on the first day of the trial in August.
«Mr McGregor was an appalling witness, he had very little memory when it suited him. He was evasive, he was not reliable,» he said.
Ms Hill urged Magistrate Mark Howden to consider if Ms Lee’s response was proportionate to the alleged insults.
«She had time for her passions to cool by walking away,» she said.
«The act of throwing it (the glass) was reasonably foreseeable to cause the outcome that it did.»
The Magistrate is expected to hand down a decision this afternoon.
Topics:
qld,
First posted
English
Arabic
Chinese (Simplified)
Dutch
French
German
Hindi
Italian
Portuguese
Russian
Spanish
