Various articles about George's supposed fight in a London bar, November 2005

MSN gossip:

Nov 4,

George Clooney denied a newspaper report that he was involved in a shoving match with a security guard outside a bar in London's West End.

The Evening Standard said Clooney had gotten into a pushing fight with a guard at Meza in the early hours of Friday morning after using the bar's rear entrance to avoid photographers.

According to the newspaper, a reception was being held at the bar for a screening of Clooney's latest film, "Good Night, and Good Luck."

A statement by Clooney's Los Angeles-based publicist, Stan Rosenfield, said the actor "did not get into a fight with a security guard. ... However, he did get into an argument with someone connected with the movie. ... And while it had nothing to do with the paparazzi, it did have everything to do with someone being unkind to a woman.

"While no punches were thrown, George told the person to knock it off."

Rosenfield didn't give full details of what happened, and didn't identify the woman he was referring to.

In the statement, Clooney said he was coming to the defense of a woman he believed was being mistreated.

"I won't stand by while someone is being insulted and maligned," the 44-year-old actor said.

A phone call by The Associated Press to a spokesman for the Evening Standard went unanswered late Friday.

The Evening Standard said Clooney left with his ex-girlfriend, British TV presenter Lisa Snowdon, in a car that had pulled up at the bar.

Redbus, the company distributing "Good Night, and Good Luck" in Britain, said: "This is a storm in a teacup. George had traveled a long way for the premiere, and everyone was thrilled to see him and had a good time." It did not confirm or deny the incident.

A Meza spokeswoman said none of the staff were involved in any incident with Clooney, but that Clooney's British management had hired security guards separately for the reception.

"Good Night, and Good Luck" is based on the battle between TV journalist Edward R. Murrow and Sen. Joseph McCarthy during the 1950s.

Clooney directed, co-wrote and starred in the film.

E! Online:

Clooney's London Broil

by Gina Serpe

Nov 4, 2005, 1:35 PM PT

Seemed more like bad night and bad luck for George Clooney following the London premiere of his latest film, Good Night, and Good Luck.

The actor is emphatically denying a widely circulated report from Britain's Evening Standard that he was involved in a drunken brawl with a security guard at a premiere party early Friday.

The newspaper claimed Clooney became embroiled in a pushing fight with a bouncer at Soho's Meza nightclub for allegedly failing to keep paparazzi at bay.

The Standard quoted an anonymous onlooker saying the bust-up occurred after a member of the bar's security staff left Clooney unattended at the club's back entrance.

"The security guard was walking down the alley and George screamed at him, 'Come back here,' and then he said, 'I am going to f---ing have you!' " the purported witness was quoted in the newspaper.

The same club gawker reported that the "disheveled" A-lister only backed away from the confrontation when his ex-girlfriend, British model and TV hostess Lisa Snowdon, got involved.

The article claims Clooney was quickly whisked away in a waiting car.

"You just don't expect George Clooney to start a fight with a security guard," the unnamed witness told the paper. "I was shocked."

As was Clooney upon hearing the report.

The actor released a statement through his publicist, Stan Rosenfeld, Friday, denying any altercation.

Rosenfeld labeled the Standard's report "inaccurate," adding "George did not get into a fight with a security guard. He did not say, 'I will have you.' "

What Clooney did do, Rosenfeld said, was get into an argument with "someone connected with the movie."

"While it had nothing to do with the paparazzi, it did have everything to do with someone being unkind to a woman," the publicist said.

"While no punches were thrown, George told the person to knock it off."

No further details on the incident were released, and Rosenfeld didn't reveal who the woman was, though he did say it was not, as reported, Clooney's former flame.

For his part, the former ER doc defended his behavior. "I won't stand by while someone is being insulted and maligned," he said in the statement. "No one I know would."

Good Night, and Good Luck, a drama about iconic journalist Edward R.
Murrow's confrontations with Senator Josephy McCarthy cowritten,
directed by and starring Clooney, is currently in theaters in North
America

This article appeared in the 11-21-05 issue of People magazine (the one with
Kenny Chesney on the cover).
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For George Clooney, it began as a fine evening- cocktails after the London premiere of Good Night, and Good Luck on Nov. 3, a little dancing with former girlfriend Lisa Snowdon at the afterparty, held at the Cuban restaurant Floridita. And then....boom!

Clooney and one of the film's producers, Simon Franks, were suddenly arguing so heatedly in an alley behind the restaurant that the next day's British tabloids blared words like "Brawl" in their headlines. The cause of the dustup? It had "to do with someone being unkind to a woman...[and] while no
punches were thrown, George told the person to knock it off," said Clooney's rep. (British papers reported that he was responding to an unflattering remark he herd about a female employee.) Added the actor: "I won't stand by while someone is being insulted and maligned."

Turns out that his chivalry also extends to Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall. "I saw all these reports on CNN where people would [say], 'Oh, she looks like a horse' and be really mean spirited," said Clooney at a press roundtable. "We're long past the points in our lives where we need to be firing off on people like that."