Kiefer Sutherland "was neither the instigator nor a wrongdoer" in last week's incident that left a fashion designer with a broken nose at a party, Sutherland's reps said in a statement this afternoon.
The "24" star was charged with misdemeanor assault last week after the incident at the trendy club SubMercer hours after the Met's black-tie Costume Institute Gala on Monday night.
The incident left designer Jack McCollough with a nose broken in three places, his rep confirmed today.
"We are troubled by the untruthful and self-serving information circulating regarding Kiefer Sutherland and events of last Monday evening," attorney Michael Miller said in Monday's statement. "We are confident, however, that the investigation being conducted by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and the NYPD will confirm that Kiefer Sutherland was neither the instigator nor a wrongdoer in this incident."
The SubMercer scrap was yet another booze-fueled incident for Sutherland, who served 48 days in jail on a drunken-driving charge in California last year.
Sutherland seemed to have been channeling Jack Bauer, his terrorist-fighting alter ego, when he allegedly roughed up McCollough, who's been busy trying to meet deadlines for his upcoming collection.
Early reports said the TV hero slammed his head into McCollough's, shattering his nose and landing McCollough in the hospital, but according to police, McCollough’s only injury was a small cut on his nose.
Just as paparazzi awaited Sutherland's visit to a Tribeca police station on Thursday, a swarm of photographers stood outside a SoHo studio waiting for McCollough to show his bandaged face the next afternoon.
Sutherland, 42, was reportedly upset that the designer bumped into long-time friend Brooke Shields, 43, though it was unclear why he attacked McCollough.
A police source quoted McCollough as saying the dustup "wasn't even over anything ... he was just roiling drunk and looking for something to smack. It didn't matter what."
Shields was not happy about the chivalry. Her reps have said that McCollough did nothing to deserve the brutal treatment even though she was bumped into.
