By Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times –
LOS ANGELES — A bartender who accused Los Angeles-based actor Cuba Gooding Jr. of shoving her in New Orleans will not press charges against the Oscar winner.
Police had issued the battery arrest warrant after a female bartender told officers the actor entered a Bourbon Street bar with a group in the early morning hours Tuesday and became “very aggravated” after other customers recognized him and asked for photos, officials said in a statement.
But when the bartender approached Gooding and asked him to calm down, the actor pushed her away with an open hand, she told police. One of the bartender’s coworkers then called 911 about 3 a.m., police said.
But on Wednesday, the bar issued a statement to the Associated Press saying the woman would not be pressing charges.
“It is our understanding the employee involved in the alleged altercation has chosen to drop all charges against Mr. Cuba Gooding Jr.,” a bar spokeswoman told AP in the statement. “While we continue to investigate this matter internally, we are hopeful that this will put an end to the matter.”
Gooding’s attorney in New York, Peter Toumbekis, contacted New Orleans police on behalf of his client Tuesday afternoon to discuss the matter.
