Actor Ryan Phillippe’s ex-girlfriend Elsie Hewitt has filed a lawsuit against him for allegedly kicking, punching and throwing her down the stairs.
Hewitt, 21, filed a civil suit against the actor on Monday claiming he got violent after the pair had a fight on July 3.
In court documents obtained by people.com, the model claims Reese Witherspoon’s ex-husband had left a party earlier after “being ignored (by Hewitt)”.
She then went to Phillippe’s house with a friend to pack up her things in the early hours of July 4 and a physical altercation ensued.
Her complaint reads: “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.”
When Hewitt came to her feet, she claimed she walked back up the stairs to retrieve her belongings, where Phillippe allegedly “grabbed Hewitt, struck her, cornered her, kicked her, and aggressively pushed her to the ground”.
According to the complaint, Hewitt’s friend – who was not named – attempted to pull the actor away from Hewitt, but could not due to their differences in stature.
She was later admitted into a hospital, where police had issued an emergency protective order and filed a report. The order expired on July 12.
The model claims she suffered chest wall pain, abrasions and severe bruising. She is asking for no less than $1 million, which her lawyer Keith Fink says will go to a domestic violence charity, people.com reported.
However, a source close to the actor, said: “Ryan did not lay a hand on her. He wants to clear all of this up and he will.”
Hewitt shared a number of photographs of bruising she claims was from Phillippe throwing her downstairs.
The model also claims that she saw the actor – whom she dated since April but split from in July – “repeatedly abusing a panoply of legal and illegal drugs, including without limitation: cocaine, ecstasy, psychedelic mushrooms, and steroids…”.
“Phillippe increasingly combined these drugs with excessive alcohol consumption and often exhibited symptoms attendant of poly drug and alcohol abuse, including mood swings and bouts of anger.”
A source close to the actor claims it was the model who was under the influence when she landed uninvited at Phillipe’s house, physically attacked him, caused a scene and refused to leave his home.
“As she was removed from the premises, she claims she fell and injured herself,” the source said.
“She has since tried to seek revenge and fame by sending glamour shots of herself to media outlets with a false story of domestic violence,” the source said.
Hewitt’s lawyer denied his client was making up the story.