Nicolas Cage asked assistant to find his son before beating
06/14/2011
Weston Cage was placed under a psychiatric hold after Los Angeles police responded to the incident Tuesday
The bloody beating of Nicolas Cage's son on a Hollywood sidewalk last week followed a search for the 20-year-old because the actor wanted to see his son before leaving town, a source with knowledge of the incident said.
A lawyer for Cage said he was "looking for Weston because he didn't have his cell phone and he wanted to get in touch with him to do some recording."Cage's request that the man he paid to be his son's assistant locate his son "doesn't justify what occurred, which was a deliberate, provoked attack where Weston was in no condition to defend himself," Cage attorney Martin Singer said Monday.The younger Cage asked Los Angeles police to investigate the assistant, Kevin Villegas, for the alleged assault, according Los Angeles Police Sgt. John Gomperz. Villegas was fired after the incident last week.Weston Cage was placed under a psychiatric hold after Los Angeles police responded to the incident Tuesday, but he was released over the weekend.Cell phone video posted online showed Weston Cage being repeatedly hit as he was pinned down on a sidewalk."He wanted Kevin to leave, and what happened, at least three witnesses told me, there was a provocation," Singer said. "Weston threw a weak kick. He put Weston down on the floor, and he began a barrage of punches, 13 to 15 to the face.""I deeply lament the incident that occurred between me and Weston last Tuesday," Villegas said, "and plead with the media and the public to suspend their judgment of the episode until all of the facts come to light."The violent incident came amid a dispute between Weston Cage's mother, Christina Fulton, and Nicolas Cage over how to deal with their son's psychological issues, which are outlined in legal document filed in Fulton's lawsuit against Cage.She said she put her acting career on hold for two decades to raise the child while Cage, one of Hollywood's highest-paid actors, pursued his career.Fulton is suing Cage over unpaid taxes and the Hollywood home where she raised Weston, and is seeking to regain legal control over her son, who court documents say suffers from "a number of mental, psychological and physical ailments." He lived with Fulton after she and Cage, who were never married, split up when Weston was a child.Villegas was hired several years ago as Weston Cage's personal wrestling coach when he was in high school. He later became a personal assistant to Nicolas Cage to help with his son."Because of a confidentiality agreement, I am limited in what I can share publicly on this matter," Villegas said. "I'm grateful that Weston is getting the care that he needs and wish him all the best."Villegas was following orders from Nicolas Cage to find and hold on to his adult son the afternoon of the incident, said the source, who asked not to be identified because of legal and confidentiality issues.The older Cage's lawyer denied the actor asked the assistant to hold on to his son. He only wanted to have the younger Cage call his father, Singer said.The source disputed an initial report that the fight began when Villegas told Weston Cage he could not order a certain item from a restaurant menu.Fulton blames Nicolas Cage for what she said is her son's downward spiral since he turned 18 and left her legal guardianship."I do not want him with Nicolas Cage," Fulton said. "I do not want him in that care. That is not the care my son needs."Weston Cage, in a statement delivered through his father's lawyer Friday afternoon, said that he did not want his mother to be involved in his care."I am an adult," Weston Cage said. "I don't want to have anything to do with my mother. Any problems that I have ever had is because of the relationship that I had with my mother."When Fulton heard the quote, she called it "an absolute disgrace," suggesting that Cage's lawyer solicited a statement from her son while he was under a psychiatric hold at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center."My son is under a spell. He's under a trance," Fulton said. "Weston would say whatever his dad wants him to say."Fulton said it is Nicolas Cage's fault that their son is in a hospital."He had his chance," she said of the elder Cage. "He had his chance to make it right. My son had a healthy environment here. He had a system that was fantastic. I built that with myself and my team."She said she fired Villegas three years ago, but Nicolas Cage rehired him, she said.Nicolas Cage, in a statement from his spokeswoman Friday, called Fulton's comments blaming him for his son's psychiatric troubles "unfortunate and inappropriate.""This is a time to focus only on giving love and full support to Weston, not an opportunity to lay blame on his father, a man who loves his son very deeply," Cage said.Fulton said Cage was rarely around for her son growing up, while she dealt with his medical and psychological issues."For 18 years, I raised Weston so Nicolas could go be Nicolas Cage, and go be a superstar, and he did," she said. "So I raised this boy, 24/7, we were glued to the hip."After Weston's 18th birthday, his father "orchestrated" his removal from her care by persuading the employees she hired to work for him and giving Weston his own home and money, Fulton said."They all go work with Nicolas Cage because he has the money and he has the bank account and he has the fame, and I don't," she said.Weston's special needs were not being met without her, she said."My son right now has been under the care of Nicolas," she said. "That didn't work. It's very obvious it didn't work. It failed miserably, failed miserably."Singer, Cage's lawyer, said Fulton's lawsuit against Cage is her motivation for attacking her son's father."Ms. Fulton comments about Mr. Cage are absurd, and it's very unfortunate that she would lash out like this because her son does not want to have anything to do with her," Singer said. "This is clearly all about money for Ms. Fulton."Fulton's lawyer said she would file for conservatorship of her son next week so she could ensure that he will get the care he needs when he is eventually released from the psychiatric hold."I'd like my son to be with his mom, where it worked," Fulton said. "I'd like my son to be in an environment where it worked. You know, 18 years of being successful, 18 years of watching my son respond to all the medical intervention that I have given him and all the support. Why would you mess with that? Why would you interfere with that? My son needs to be home."
Discuss This Article
Add your comment below! trexuhm 2011-11-24 08:57:47 Report Offensive Post kAq4J4 , [url=http://zpfxxlcnynyc.com/]zpfxxlcnynyc[/url], [link=http://miykbcikieef.com/]miykbcikieef[/link], http://ckxqlfiuoztw.com/ rsksxmyti 2011-11-30 09:09:43 Report Offensive Post VgHF4p mcxdzpumvsfv auzisf 2011-12-04 07:43:18 Report Offensive Post spKxOV , [url=http://jvmiiqlqobgv.com/]jvmiiqlqobgv[/url], [link=http://gezyoklnncmf.com/]gezyoklnncmf[/link], http://blntplmycyui.com/ Bobcat 2011-11-22 02:35:41 Report Offensive Post Hey, kliler job on that one you guys! nbbjps 2011-11-22 08:07:49 Report Offensive Post 6pq3RW lqbsxcoexzpb
© 2012 expobusiness.com. All Rights Reserved.