Singer, actor and TV host Nick Lachey must now complete 52 court-ordered anger management treatment sessions and attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings for a year, following a heated exchange with a paparazzi in Los Angeles.
The ruling comes a year after the 49-year-old “Love Is Blind” host allegedly attacked a photographer. entertainment tonight reports. The terms of the ruling are part of a diversion program that, if Lachey completes, “will result in no criminal charges being filed,” the Los Angeles district attorney explained.
In March 2022, celebrity photographer Jody Santos saw Lachey having dinner with his wife, Vanessa, and a friend, and decided to take a photo.
“He made a face at me and then I heard Vanessa say, ‘Go find them, open the door,’ and then he started walking towards my car all aggressive,” Santos said in an interview Tuesday.
“I immediately closed my door and rolled up my window as fast as I could,” Santos continued. “Then he started banging on the window. I thought he was going to break his hand, how hard he was hitting the glass. I’m surprised he didn’t break the window.
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She also claims that Lachey called her a “p**sy mother f**ker”, and that she smelled alcohol on her breath when she pushed her arm out of her car window.
Shortly after the initial incident, Lachey took to Twitter to defend himself and apparently get over the ordeal.
“Last night after enjoying a great dinner with my wife and our dear friend, we were harassed by paparazzi as we walked back to our hotel,” he wrote. “I clearly exaggerated. I’ve been in this game long enough to know that his antics are unfortunately part of the deal. stupid of me Made.”
Lachey also denied any accusations that he became violent or physical, saying that was “absolutely untrue.”
Santos says he expected an apology from Lachey’s team and even asked for one, but never received anything of the sort. She says that she wants Lachey to know that what she did “wasn’t right”.
“To this day, Nick has not taken any responsibility,” Santos said. “It’s one thing to be violent with a woman and insult her, and another to blame the other person and lie about what really happened.”
“Nick won’t be too happy when he gets caught going to anger management classes,” he continued. “All of this could have been prevented if Nick had taken responsibility for his behavior.”
