Legal woes just went from bad to worse for Redmond O’Neal, the 33-year-old son of Farrah Fawcett and Ryan O’Neal.
Ken Fox, a gay man in Los Angeles, has accused O’Neal of assaulting him on May 2. He says he was wheeling a laundry basket to a neighborhood laundromat when O’Neal approached him, called him gay slurs and beat him within an inch of his life with a beer bottle. His nose was broken, among other injuries.
O’Neal is facing several felony charges after an alleged crime spree in May of this year. He’s accused of assaulting four other men; two of them were critically injured. One was repeatedly stabbed.
Fox appeared on Thursday with famed L.A. lawyer Gloria Allred for a press conference, where they announced Fox is suing O’Neal for “assault and battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, violation of civil rights, negligence, loss of consortium and negligent infliction of emotional distress.”
Fox appeared to be choking back tears throughout the presser, saying a common gay slur Redmond used was "just one of many offensive terms used to make gay men feel ashamed of themselves."
"I felt trapped, like a wounded animal. I literally thought I was going to die," Fox said. "All I could do was scream until he just walked away."
"He appears to be an unrepentant repeat offender who has had his parole revoked for doing drugs in a rehabilitation center. In my opinion, he is competent enough to know exactly what he was doing. He wanted to hurt an old, weak, defenseless gay man. He wanted to hurt me. And he did hurt me.”
Allred added:
“There must be serious consequences for anyone who engages in violence against innocent victims and particularly where the victim is victimized on account of his status as a member of a minority which has a long history of persecution and violence against them on account of their sexual orientation.”
Fox disclosed numerous medical setbacks stemming from the attack, including the need to have his nose re-broken and reset. He is also in counseling.
Redmond O’Neal has been in police custody since May; he was arrested on suspicion of robbing a 7/11 at gunpoint. O’Neal’s half-sister is Academy Award-winner Tatum O’Neal, who’s had her own fair share of struggles with addiction.
As reported by USA Today, O’Neal has been arrested several times in the past and he has several felonies over his head already. In 2011, he was arrested for possession of heroin and possession of a firearm. He had strikes for DUI and drugs in 2008. In 2015, he served time in prison for violating his parole.
h/t: USA Today
I’ve long enjoyed the work of
I've long enjoyed the work of Tatum O'Neal and am pleased to know that she and her brother, Griffin have worked through their addictions to become productive citizens. Redmond, on the other hand, has been a problem from the get-go, and that he's a violent, homophobic bigoted drug addict says so much about O'Neal's parenting skills. So much for the man who played Barry Lyndon and Oliver Barrett. Violence, homophobia and bigotry are learned behaviors. What a shame that Redmond possesses these skills. My heart goes out to Ken Fox. I send positive energy to him.