DAVID HASSELHOFF has hit back at reports he assaulted his ex-wife in drunken rages, claiming her latest attack on him is little more than a desperate attempt for publicity.
In a recent interview with US TV show Access Hollywood, Hasselhoff’s ex, Pamela Bach, fought back tears as she revealed the actor’s alcoholism ruined their marriage and turned him into a violent man who would attack her.
The revelation came after a three-month-old video, leaked to the media, featured an intoxicated Hasselhoff growling obscenities at his teenage daughter as she attempted to talk sense to him.
But the actor insists that, despite the damning video footage, he has never laid a finger on his wife - and he’s appalled by suggestions Bach also made that he’s a threat to his daughters.
In a statement released yesterday (04May07), Hasselhoff said, "More than a year ago, I made a difficult decision, for the sake of our children and myself, to file for divorce. To this day, my ex-wife has engaged in conduct designed to punish me by repeatedly publishing false statements to the press.
"Despite her fabricated claims, I have, from the outset of this painful divorce, consistently taken the high road by not responding to the myriad of false allegations made against me by her out of consideration for our children.
"But recent events have made it impossible for me to continue to remain silent.
"My ex-wife and her latest attorney (Debra Opri), who seems to share a thirst for publicity, recently suggested that I had not only been physically abusive to her, but that I was also physically abusive towards our two daughters, as well.
"This latest claim is not only utterly false, but it is also obscene. Our daughters are outraged by the falsity of their mother’s claims… My ex-wife’s actions are nothing more than a transparent attempt to garner attention from the media and to hurt me.
"Her claims that I ever physically abused her or our children are ludicrous.
It is inexcusable that my ex-wife has perpetuated these false claims against me, without consideration for the toll her actions have taken on the girls.
"It is clear that she will resort to any means to obtain the attention of the media in order to satisfy her own perverse need for publicity, regardless of its impact on our daughters or me.
"Unfortunately, our children have been subjected to physical and emotional abuse on numerous occasions, but it has been at the hands of their own mother, which abuse has been documented by the Court-appointed experts in our marital proceedings.
"While I acknowledge that I am a recovering alcoholic who must deal with my own issue on a daily basis, my ex-wife has refused to deal with her own issues, which include having tested positive for alcohol and illegal substances in response to court ordered testing.
"Although she has publicly denied having tested positive, proof of her drug use is part of the Court record. I truly hope that my ex-wife will get the help that she so desperately needs for her own sake and for the sake of our children, and that in the future she will refrain from perpetuating falsehoods.
"I look forward to the day that our marital litigation is behind me, so that our children and I can move forward with ourlives in peace."
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