A TELEVISION executive from the North-East says he was subjected to a tirade of abuse from Hollywood star Russell Crowe.
The Gladiator star was said to have been furious that his Bafta speech had been cut when it was screened on BBC1 an hour after the awards ceremony held at London's Odeon cinema. He was so angry he subjected the show's director, Malcolm Gerrie, 51, from Newcastle, to what a spokesman described as a stream of abuse.
Crowe, 37, who won the best actor award for his role in A Beautiful Mind, was incensed that a poem he read - Sanctity by Patrick Kavanagh - was cut from his acceptance speech when the show was screened on TV.
He confronted Mr Gerrie at the after-awards party at the Grosvenor House Hotel.
A spokesman for production firm Initial, of which Mr Gerrie is chief executive, said: "Russell Crowe was very abusive and behaved very unreasonably. It was a live show and his speech was one of several that had to be edited.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article