Actor Christian Slater Arrested, Charged With Sexual Abuse

By Linda Orlando

Christian Slater, the actor who made famous the catchphrase "Talk hard!" in the movie Pump Up the Volume, took that advice to the streets early on the morning of May 31st when he yelled to reporters, "I didn’t do anything!" The strident denial came as he was being led to a police cruiser in handcuffs, charged with allegedly groping a woman on the street in Manhattan. New York City police said that the 35-year old actor is accused of inappropriately touching a woman’s buttocks around 2:00 a.m. as she was walking on the sidewalk near 93rd Street and Third Avenue, on the Upper East Side. The woman, whose name was not released, flagged down a police car to report the incident. The officers took her to look for the man, and when they came upon Slater nearby, the woman identified him as the man who had groped her. New York Police Sgt. Mart Doherty told CNN that Slater "was intoxicated at the time." He was arrested and charged with third-degree sexual assault, and he made his first appearance in Manhattan Criminal Court Tuesday morning.

Christian Slater’s movie career began in 1985 with The Legend of Billie Jean, but he leapt into the public eye in 1989 with his performance as a sardonic, murderous high-schooler in the movie Heathers. Critics and fans alike were captivated by his commanding, charismatic presence and his wry smile. His fame as a teen idol was cemented the following year when he garnered good reviews for Pump Up the Volume, starring as a pirate radio deejay whose broadcasts impact the lives of local misunderstood youth. After that widely acclaimed performance, his opportunities grew more numerous and high profile with appearances in Tales From the Darkside: The Movie and Young Guns II, both in 1990. In 1991 he costarred as Lucky Luciano in the urban crime saga Mobsters, and followed that up with an appealing turn as young Will Scarlett in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. A cameo appearance later that year in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country was particularly enjoyable for Slater, because he is a major Star Trek fan. In fact, his unusual arched eyebrows are the result of him shaving them when dressing up as Spock for Halloween, and they never grew back in properly.

Slater enjoyed critical praise for starring roles in Untamed Heart and True Romance, both in 1993, as well as supporting roles in Interview With the Vampire (1994) and Murder in the First (1995). He has appeared in more than 25 movies in the last decade, including Hard Rain, Very Bad Things, 3000 Miles to Graceland, and Windtalkers. But despite his steady work in films, he has not had another starring role and has been relegated to supporting roles and ensemble casts. Most recently Slater has turned his acting talents to the stage, where he has fared better in starring roles. He received a standing ovation on opening night at the Gielgud Theatre in London's West End for his portrayal of R.P. McMurphy in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." He is currently playing Tom Wingfield in the Broadway revival of Tennessee Williams' "The Glass Menagerie," a role that seems to have been tailor-made for him.

Although Slater has had no problem finding regular work as an actor and he has often received critical praise for his performances, his temperament and frequent brushes with the law have hampered his ability to achieve the kind of superstardom he may have otherwise attained. After leading sheriff’s deputies on a wild car chase through West Hollywood in 1989, Slater crashed into a telephone pole and kicked a police officer before trying to escape over a fence. He was charged with evading police, driving under the influence, assault with a deadly weapon (his cowboy boots), and driving with a suspended license. He was arrested again in 1994 for bringing a handgun onto an airplane, and then in August 1997 he was arrested yet again by Los Angeles police and charged with three counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of battery. The charges stemmed from an argument during which he assaulted his girlfriend while he was intoxicated. Slater was sentenced to three months behind bars but was released after 59 days for good behavior.

Despite the many corroborated accounts of Slater’s hard partying--drinking, drug abuse, and an affinity for lap dancers--and his multiple legal entanglements, his mother Mary Jo Slater has made several passionate appeals to the press, demanding that they stop writing about her son’s troubles and focus their attentions elsewhere. Last month she issued an official statement insisting that her son is no longer the foolish young man he once was, but he now dedicates himself to good causes and raising his two young children with his estranged wife, Ryan Haddon. In her statement, Slater’s mother said, "Knowing Christian better than anyone else, I had to respond. Christian has many wonderful traits. He made mistakes. He was young and wild. When you're young and wild, you make mistakes that you regret later in life. He is a wonderful and loving son, a kind, gentle, and very funny person. He is painfully aware of his tarnished reputation. It saddens me that no matter how much he does that is good and positive, his past is always thrown in his face."

Apparently someone needs to tell Mary Jo Slater that her son’s tarnished reputation would probably be forgotten by the press if he didn’t continue to ruin it. No matter how handsome, talented, and generous Christian Slater is, he is more likely to be forgotten by casting agents first, if he doesn’t grow up and stop making mistakes.