Elsie Hewitt, the ex-girlfriend of Ryan Phillippe, has filed a lawsuit against the actor in which she accused him of serious physical abuse.
According to the legal documents, Phillippe kicked, punched and threw Hewitt down a flight of stairs during an argument between the pair on July 4.
Hewitt alleges that she went to her then-boyfriend’s house on that date to pick up some items, only to run into a very drunk Phillippe.
Per TMZ, the model says she tried talking to the TV and movie star, only for him to attack her, grabbing her upper arm so hard that he left bruises… before violently tossing her down the stairs as hard as he could.
She claims he then hurled her down the stairs a second time and screamed for her to “get the f-ck out of my house, you crazy cunt!”
Hewitt says the altercation started after Phillippe left a party early because he thought she was ignoring him.
In the civil suit, the Guess model also says she saw the actor – who she dated since April, yet split from in July – ”repeatedly abusing a panoply of legal and illegal drugs, including without limitation: cocaine, ecstasy, psychedelic mushrooms, and steroids…”
A section reads as follows:
“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.”
Hewitt went to the hospital, talked to police after the alleged incident and was granted a protective order.
She suffered chest wall pain, abrasions and severe bruising and is seeking over $ 1 million in damages.
Countering these claims, sources tell both People Magazine and TMZ that Hewitt was the one who was drunk and that she showed up at Phillippe’s residence days after the pair broke up.
“She physically attacked Ryan, caused a scene and refused to leave his home,” an insider tells People, adding:
“As she was removed from the premises, she claims she fell and injured herself…
“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.”
But an attorney for Hewitt also spoke to People and said this suit isn’t about money or fame.
“She’s not going to take a dime, I am not making a dime, [if she wins the case] the money is going to a domestic violence charity,” Keith Fink says.
Shortly after news of her lawsuit went viral, Hewitt shared the following photo on Instagram:
She included with it the following caption:
we spend a lot of time on here showing our happiest moments and it’s easy to assume someone’s life is perfect.
everyone’s fighting their own battles that they understandably choose not to share. sometimes it’s crazy to me that people show interest in me/my life when I’ve shared so much more of what I’m doing and how I look as opposed to who I really am.
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.
I think it’s important to feel all your feelings, both happy and sad in order to overcome and to grow stronger. everyone is on their own path and has their own pain. always get back up, keep trying and stand up for yourself and what you believe in.
i’ll keep working hard and working on lifting my spirits and if anything, just take this as a positive reminder to be the best and kindest you can be in a struggling world full of enough suffering and hatred.
i love u.
Ryan Phillippe was once married to Reese Witherspoon.
They have two kids together.