Michael Avenatti says he is still waiting on an apology after TMZ reported on his domestic violence arrest last week.
The lawyer best known for representing Stormy Daniels was arrested in West Los Angeles on November 14, after an Estonian actress named Mareli Minuitti filed a domestic abuse charge against him. Minuitti applied for a restraining order against Avenatti on November 19; you can read more about her here. You can read more about Avenatti’s arrest last week here.
Avenatti has protested that he is innocent ever since the arrest. Both his estranged wife and his ex-wife have come forward to speak about his good character and to vouch for the fact that he never hurt them. The Los Angeles District Attorney has also said that Avenatti won’t be facing a felony charge (it’s not clear whether he’ll be charged with a misdemeanor). Now, Avenatti says, it’s time for the media to apologize.
Avenatti Says TMZ’s Article About His Arrest Was ‘Demonstrably False’
I am still waiting for apologies from @tmz for their demonstrably false article from last Wed (false on at least 9 key “facts,” including that I beat a woman in her face). I am also waiting on apologies from all of the other news orgs that quoted from the story bc they are lazy.
TMZ first broke the news that Avenatti had been arrested on suspicion of domestic violence. As often happens, the gossip site got the scoop, leaving other newspapers to play catch-up. But TMZ got at least one fact wrong: the name of the woman who’d accused Avenatti of beating her.
An early version of the TMZ story said that Lisa Storie-Avenatti, Avenatti’s estranged wife, had filed the complaint against him. TMZ also reported that Storie-Avenatti was spotted with a swollen and bruised face, talking angrily on the phone about Avenatti’s abuse. TMZ had to correct the story soon afterwards, when Storie-Avenatti came forward to defend her husband’s reputation.
Avenatti says that TMZ got nine “facts” wrong in their story about his arrest. He wants them to apologize. But Avenatti says he is also waiting on an apology from all the other news organizations that quoted from the TMZ story — because, Avenatti says, they were too “lazy” to do their own fact-checking. So far, no news organizations have come forward to apologize.
Prosecutors Have Decided Not to Charge Avenatti With Felony Domestic Abuse
On November 21, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office said that it would not be prosecuting Avenatti on felony domestic abuse charges. The DA said it was sending the case down to city prosecutors. Avenatti could still be charged — but if so, he would be facing misdemeanor charges, instead of a felony.
Mareli Minuitti said that Avenatti had yanked her across the room by the arm, leaving her with marks on her face. She says the argument began with words before escalating to physical violence. Minuitti, who says that she’s been living with Avenatti since January, told the media that Avenatti had called her an “ungrateful f****** b****” after the couple got into an argument about money on November 13. She said the lawyer hit her with pillows before grabbing her by the arm and hauling her across the apartment and into the building’s hallway.