Miss USA 2020: Why did Haley Reinhart punch bouncer in 2017, and how tiff at pub led to battery and arrest?
Miss USA 2020 is here and we couldn’t wait to see will be crowned as the successor by the 2019 winner Cheslie Kryst from North Carolina. The much-anticipated event was moved from spring due to the ongoing global pandemic. Miss USA 2020 will be held on Monday, November 9, at the Exhibition Centre and Soundstage in Tennessee. While Kryst will serve as a backstage commentator along with Christan Murphy, the event will be graced by a special performance by the ‘American Idol’ alum Haley Reinhart. Besides being known for ruling the Billboard’s Jazz Digital Songs chart with her cover of Radiohead’s ‘Creep’, Reinhart is also famous for legal issues, which involved her punching a bouncer and getting arrested in 2017.
Why was Reinhart charged and what led to fight?
On 17 July 2017, Reinhart made headlines after reports confirmed that she was arrested following an altercation at a bar. The Palantine Police Department said that she was taken into custody for punching a bouncer in the head. According to reports, Reinhart and her friends were asked to leave Lamplighter Inn by the pub staff after they allegedly knocked over a table. Her lawyer Dina LaPolt, however, denied the allegations against the singer and said that the bouncers had in fact assaulted her client.
She told PEOPLE, “Without provocation, Haley Reinhart was assaulted by bouncers at the Lamplighter Inn. After forcefully removing Ms. Reinhart, they violently beat her friend, who sustained multiple injuries. We believe that she will be exonerated of all charges once the investigation is completed. We plan on taking legal action against all those who were involved in this unfortunate incident.”
A video from the incident was later released by TMZ, which showed Reinhart’s friend, Alan Chislof, being choked and beaten by several bouncers. He sustained serious injuries including a concussion and revealed that he and his friends hadn’t turned over the table at the pub, and Reinhart had only touched the rope separating the dance floor and table area, which reportedly irked the bouncers. On July 20, 2017, TMZ reported that the bouncer Adam Sobanski had been charged with two counts of aggravated battery, strangling, and aggravated battery causing great bodily harm.
On July February 28, 2018, Reinhart was charged with battery and ordered by the court to pay $500 in fine and $139 in court costs. On May 2, 2018, she pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of misdemeanor battery, for which she was sentenced to probation, anger management counseling, and six days in the Cook County Sheriff’s Work Alternative Program as a substitute for time in jail.