When Whoopi Goldberg tapped Michaele Salahi to get her attention on “The View” Wednesday, leading the "Real Housewife" to claim that Goldberg had hit her, Salahi was doing something she’d done before.
Attorney Cindy Revesman was representing a client in a civil suit against Tareq Salahi, when she had a similar encounter in January of 2009.
“I didn’t know Michaele Salahi from a hole in the wall ... she claimed to be Tareq’s attorney, then she told the judge she wasn’t,” Revesman said of the incident. “We go to an anteroom that’s no bigger than 10-by-10 feet, I’m there with my client and I put my finger out to get her attention and at the same time she turns around, and (the finger) touches her. She said, ‘Don’t hit me!,’ she looks at the bailiff and says, 'Make sure you don’t hit me again.’ I say I don’t know what’s going on here, I don’t know what you’re talking about, and I get called by the city of Falls Church (Va.) that afternoon saying there’s a complaint filed that says I hit her.”
Revesman’s client, Steve Winter, witnessed the incident. “I was 3 feet away and said, 'Michaele, she tapped you on the arm to get your attention.' It was ridiculous,” Winter said.
On April 15, 2010, a judge dismissed the charges against Revesman. The same day, the civil case against Tareq Salahi was settled, with a judge deciding he owed Winter’s company $15,000 for marketing, promotions and public relations services rendered in conjunction with the 2008 America’s Polo Cup.
“When I heard what she did on ‘The View,’ I wasn’t surprised. Nothing those two do surprise me in the least,” said Revesman.
So will Revesman be watching more of Salahi’s antics on “Real Housewives of D.C.?”
“I would never watch the show,” she said.
As for Winter, he might tune in eventually. “I’m not watching it because I care or want to, but because people are going to be talking to me about it.”
When asked for comment, Michaele Salahi's attorney Lisa Bloom said, "Michaele never accused Whoopi of hitting her."
Paul Rudd channels inner Joaquin Phoenix?A disheveled Paul Rudd startled many business owners on Brooklyn's Atlantic Avenue Thursday morning. But, rest assured he hasn't gone the Joaquin Phoenix route. The look is for his upcoming movie, "My Idiot Brother."
"He had a full shaggy beard and hair down to (his shoulders)," an employee of a local copy shop told TODAYshow.com. "He was wearing an orange jumpsuit with the letters DOC on the back of it and (was) walking up and down the block."
Rudd's scene, in which his character is incarcerated, was filmed at the Brooklyn Detention Center, crew members confirmed to TODAYshow.com. Zooey Deschanel, who plays one of Rudd's three sisters in the movie, was also spotted around the area in normal clothing, suggesting she is visiting Rudd in prison in the scene. Cops guarded all the open doors where the crew members, clearly designated with bright orange name tags, were walking in and out of the facility.
"The movie is about coming of age ... when you're 40," said one crew member with a smile.
The copy-shop employee said that Rudd didn't keep his jail clothing for long. Around noon, he stripped off the jumpsuit, pulled on a red shirt and jumped in an SUV to get lunch.
But, there's no word if Rudd will be keeping the hair-raising look. Judging from the reaction of the men and women who saw it, the public prefers the actor clean-shaven.
Weekend box officeIn this weekend’s edition of “a regular movie up against a 3-D movie, which will win?”, I’m going with the former. “The Other Guys,” a PG-13 buddy-cop comedy starring Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg stands to do great.
First, we’re kind of starved for comedies this summer, and, Wahlberg and Ferrell both have a solid history of opening films. Expect it to top “Inception” for the No. 1 spot.
That means the other new release, “Step Up 3D,” the third installment in the “Step Up” franchise, is going to have to fight its way into the top three at the box office.
Courtney Hazlett delivers the Scoop Monday through Friday on today.msnbc.com. Follow Scoop on Twitter @courtneyatmsnbc.