Tom Daley’s husband cleared as gay bar assault charges thrown out mid-trial
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Dustin Lance Black, the husband of Tom Daley, has been cleared of assault mid-trial after he was accused of twisting a woman’s wrist “very hard” during an altercation at a gay bar in central London.
The 49-year-old Oscar-winning screenwriter flew from his home in Los Angeles to stand trial at Westminster Magistrates’ Court after he was charged with assaulting Teddy Edwardes, a TV presenter, causing her to spill a drink over herself and friends during an incident on Aug 18 last year.
Mr Black, who married Olympic diver Mr Daley, 29, in 2017, had been at the Freedom nightclub in Soho when he became involved in a row with Ms Edwardes.
She claimed he grabbed her wrist “very hard” and was “really aggressive”.
Following the alleged incident, Ms Edwardes punched Mr Black in the back of the head, for which she received a police caution. She went on to launch a counter-claim against Mr Black and he was charged with assault.
But District Judge Louisa Cieciora dismissed the charge against Mr Black at the end of the prosecution’s case, citing inconsistencies in Ms Edwardes’ live evidence.
“[Ms Edwardes] said in her evidence at one point that she could not remember a wrist grab,” the judge told the court. “She then said that she was sure that it did happen – and that was an obvious contradiction.”
Neither Mr Black nor Mr Daley, who were in the courtroom, were required to give evidence.
After being cleared by the court, Mr Black said: “I am pleased that the judge saw the truth today and ruled in my favour. 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.”
Earlier in the day, the court heard that Ms Edwardes, who hosts BBC Three reality show Big Proud Party Agency, had been speaking to Mr Daley at the bar and bought him a drink before sitting in a booth with him and his husband. She said Mr Black seemed “unhappy” and “didn’t seem very friendly”.
Ms Edwardes claimed she became “uncomfortable” when a man sat at their booth, and went to find security to ask him to leave.
When security came back to the booth, Mr Black became “aggressive” and began shouting at Ms Edwardes, accusing her of having “humiliated” him.
“He grabbed my wrist… I had a drink in my hand. The grip was very hard; really aggressive,” she said. When he “twisted” her wrist, her drink spilt over herself, an employee of the bar and Amber Gill, the former Love Island winner who was her girlfriend at the time.
Ms Edwardes told the court she had been “scared”, and added that Mr Black’s actions meant she no longer felt secure at gay bars. “I just don’t feel comfortable going to gay bars now,” she said. “That was like my safe place.”
Cross-examining Ms Edwardes, Helena Duong had said it was telling that she did not mention Mr Black grabbing her wrist either to police immediately after the incident or in an Instagram post the following day.
Ms Duong also took the court through social media posts made by Ms Edwardes on both Twitter, now called X, and Instagram since the incident.
In one, she posted: “Imagine calling the police on someone and then you end up being the one who’s charged,” alongside “crying laughing” emojis.
